RE: How soon can you eat deer meat?
Deer meat can be eaten immediately after kill. But two butchers/meat inspectors taught me how to process deer. Skinkill as soon as possible. Weather permitting, let kill set up overnight. Do not age deer unless you can controll the temp at just above freezing. I use propane torch to get rid of stray hair. Bone the kill --- without cutting bones. Marrow is very fatty and spoils, even in freezer, when spread over meat with saw. Shrink-wrap, packaging according how it will be used: sausage trimmings, jerky, chops, etc. Freeze. Don't overcook wild meat (bear excepted, which can carry trichanosis like pork) medium rare steaks. Prolonged cooking just makes it tougher.