Hanging Deer

[wplatehunter]

A friend of mine shot a deer up north on Saturday and it froze soild. He does not have time to clean it with work, so I told him I would. Its going to be in the 30's for temp all week. I plan on cleaning it Thursday night is that to long to let it sit.

Thanks for the info.

[Shoot2Kill]

Not with these temps at night, just keep it out of the sun (if we ever get any). 4-5 days is about what I'd like for mine to hang before starting to cut it up....can't understand these guys that cut them up the day after they shoot them....let them age a bit! We kept caribou and moose for a week in the field after shooting them in Alaska when I lived there....just gotta keep them cool, dry, and out of the sun - not much of a problem here if you can hang it inside somewhere.

[Tippman]

I butchered a doe 15 days after I shot it last December. The backstaps were so tender once I made the initial cut I just pulled them off with my hands. Prime beef ages 21 days!

[brassman]

I agree with both the posts above and will add a little. The whole aging process is to have a certain bacteria break down the muscle tissue a bit. Too high of temps, above 40 or below 32 degrees is not ideal, below 32 is not at all bad but nothing happens, at all, too high and the bacteria will be too much and things will be ruined. somewhere around 32 is a good ideal hanging temp. Like S2K said no sunlight.

[wplatehunter]

Thanks for the info.