Hanging

dodderangler

Does anyone hang their quarry?
I remember years ago shooting with my dad we would hang game like pheasant woodcock etc also hung hares tho very rarely shot them
Never hung rabbits tho
We don't do it anymore tho does anyone still hang their kills?
Atb
D.A

garv123

dodderangler wrote: »

Does anyone hang their quarry?
I remember years ago shooting with my dad we would hang game like pheasant woodcock etc also hung hares tho very rarely shot them
Never hung rabbits tho
We don't do it anymore tho does anyone still hang their kills?
Atb
D.A

Yup we leave all birds and deer in a cooler hanging for a week before they're touched.

beretta firearm

dodderangler wrote: »

Does anyone hang their quarry?
I remember years ago shooting with my dad we would hang game like pheasant woodcock etc also hung hares tho very rarely shot them
Never hung rabbits tho
We don't do it anymore tho does anyone still hang their kills?
Atb
D.A

Yep hang em up in the garage.its fairly cool in winter!

howya mike

Depends on what your taste buds are like. I personally think all deer should be hung but when it comes to birds that's definitely a matter of personal taste. Basically birds get their Gamey taste when the internal organs start to rot and hence give the strong taste. I stand to be corrected on this. I choose to pluck and clean all my birds straight away to my uncles distraught as he would leave a pheasant hang till his head falls off. Not for me though.

garyc007

yep at least a couple of days to a week tops

cookimonster

howya mike wrote: »

Basically birds get their Gamey taste when the internal organs start to rot and hence give the strong taste. I stand to be corrected on this.
.

Not quite true, the flavour will develop with out entrails. Altough in Mediterranean regions they do live fish intact to develop flavour.
In birds entrails where left in to minimise the amount of flesh exposed to the air. Game is traditionaly hung in cellers and cool rooms to prevent the meat from spoiling while it matured and tenderised but if it was not preserved it would be consumed quickly after the hanging period. Countries with colder climates used pits dug at least 1 metre below ground as 'meat lockers' or utilized perma frost for long term storage. Other means of long term preservation where drying, smoking and confit.
Todays refrigeration slows down the decay process, which is what we rely on for tenderisation and therefore the development of a gamey flavours.

howya mike

Not quite true, the flavour will develop with out entrails. Altough in Mediterranean regions they do live fish intact to develop flavour.
In birds entrails where left in to minimise the amount of flesh exposed to the air. Game is traditionaly hung in cellers and cool rooms to prevent the meat from spoiling while it matured and tenderised but if it was not preserved it would be consumed quickly after the hanging period. Countries with colder climates used pits dug at least 1 metre below ground as 'meat lockers' or utilized perma frost for long term storage. Other means of long term preservation where drying, smoking and confit.
Todays refrigeration slows down the decay process, which is what we rely on for tenderisation and therefore the development of a gamey flavours.[/Quote]

Excellent post cookimonster and thanks for lesson. Always thought it was the decaying that caused the taste. BTW did you ever hear of people burying the haunch of venison till it was nearly rotten or is this just another bull**** story the grandparents told me

cookimonster

Burying may be a form of the meat locker idea, but I do recall that there was a process of wrapping large joints of venison in hessian / sack cloth and burying it below ground (as in covering in earth). Depth and location had much to do with it, dryness is important and one metre below ground maintains a cool temperature and there is something about the maximum depth that bugs / insects are found.
In the late 70's and early 80's we had a big chalet tent and used to go camping around Ireland and in those days most camp sites where very basic, Dad would dig a 2 foot square hole 3 foot deep and used a board as a lid to keep our milk etc in, worked all the time.
They were the days, no Celtic Tiger nice-itees.

Vizzy

My father used always say that in relation to geese what you do is nail the wings and neck to a board and then hang it.
Once the goose falls off , you cook the board.!!

Seriously though he used to hang birds for quite a while and he used to cook them whole(particularly snipe and wookcock).The smell still lives with me

pheasntstalker

hang em high!:D:D rabbits tho gutted in field and skinned back at base and in to a nice bath of water salt and some sliced orenges over nite,good for there complexion;):D

cookimonster

pheasntstalker wrote: »

hang em high!:D:D rabbits tho gutted in field and skinned back at base and in to a nice bath of water salt and some sliced orenges over nite,good for there complexion;):D

Must try that, use something similar for veal and white offal. Try leaving the prep'ed rabbits over night in buttermilk it both tenderises and adds moistness to the meat.

German pointer

I hang all my game rabbits 4 to 5 days and venision and goat for anywhere from 7 to 14 days, Birds for about a week. Roll on Saturday:D:D

pheasntstalker

ah cookiemonster you,ve just rekindled a fond memmory from my youth ,i remember my late uncle used to do that,god i forgot about, thanks for the tip and the memmory:):)