After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

After you harvest your deer WITH A BOW, I found that if you hang your deer in a cooler or out in the cold weather for at least a day after you skin and clean it, It makes for much better and more tender venison. A biology teacher once told me that the enzymes and cells break down while hanging in a cooler acting as a natural tenderizer. It works! All 3 deer that I harvested this past BOW SEASON were handled this way and I ate the venison from each. It was all delicious. The first deer was a doe which fed on corn primarily....the second was a buck which primarily fed on woods forage such as acorns etc. The last was a buck that fed on soy bean. By taste you cannot tell them apart. I do believe this process works best and I'll continue to process the meat this way. Forgive me for this post being a little boring, but I figured some of you may benefit and enjoy your venison to it's fullest after you kill it WITH YOUR BOW!! Good Luck.

"Enjoy and respect the great outdoors;
Teach our kids the same, someday they'll thank us for it!"



Edited by - fisher501 on 01/15/2002 12:27:15

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

Rofl Fisher501. That was as about as on topic as you could get!

Questions, or comments? Please feel free to email me at [email protected]

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

I am sorry....but I gotta ask....

...Will the deer taste different if I used a gun? <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>.....

I sincerely apologize......and I think they taste better when they are taken with a bow anyway...<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

You guys are too much!! <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

&quot;Enjoy and respect the great outdoors;
Teach our kids the same, someday they'll thank us for it!&quot;

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

Ok, now your off topic again!

Questions, or comments? Please feel free to email me at [email protected]

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

Bow kills definitely taste better. It has to do with bleeding and all..

You age 3 days only? You should get a fridge like I have and age them for up to 12 days at 32 degrees. You won't believe the difference.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

Where is the sarcasm smiley when you need it LOL! Fisher, my question to you is what to do when you don't have a cooler to hang the deer in? We do our own processing at home. For example during bow season in PA last year it was in the 70's, can't leave him outside. Will quartering the deer and packing it on ice in some camping coolers produce the same effect? Most of the folks I know were scrambling during bow season to get the deer processed ASAP to prevent spoilage.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

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On topic..... Off topic....???????? I missed something. Anyway.... in answer to the question. Weather permitting I like to let them hang but it doesn't usually work that way in Maryland. We don't have places with coolers to hang deer like a lot of states. Usually the most you can hope for is over night. In early season it's usually so warm I have them skinned and boned out within an hour of getting them home. I put the meat on trays with some wax paper over paper towels to suck up blood. I cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 3 or 4 days.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

I hung my deer for 8 days this year, and the meat is delicious. I didn't skin it until I butchered it though, and lost a good portion of the meat from where the (sorry guys) slug went through. If I'd have skinned it earlier, I could have cut that portion out and lost less meat possibly.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

Seriously, I'm fortunate to have a neighbor who is a retired farmer/butcher who has a walk in cooler... he is also an ex-BOWHUNTER <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>. Tribal, your idea with quartering the meat and putting it in coolers would work I'm sure as long as you keep the meat cool. Excellent idea!

&quot;Enjoy and respect the great outdoors;
Teach our kids the same, someday they'll thank us for it!&quot;



Edited by - fisher501 on 01/15/2002 12:56:06

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

You really don't want the meat to stay wet as in &quot;iced and in a cooler&quot;. You need to let the outer layer of tissue dry. This will keep the bacteria from growing as fast. Wet meat will spoil faster.


I skin & quarter mine and put them in the fridge in a big tupperware container. Drain the blood often, and occassionally wipe clean with a clean cloth dampened with a water/vinegar solution.


Edited by - cyclone on 01/15/2002 13:12:21

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

You never know from one day to the next in WNY what you'll have for weather during deer season. If the temperatures stay cold enough, I let the deer hang in the garage for a week or better. My garage is well insulated, so if the temps rise a little during the day, I keep it closed up, then open it a night for a while to let cold air in again. If it's too warm, I hang the deer overnight, then quarter it and put it in the refridgerator in plastic bags. I pull out the vegi drawers in the bottom, and stand the quarters up, with paper towels in the bottom of the bag to help soak up the blood. It's important that the meat is not laying in a lot of blood. I leave it for 3-4 days before cutting it up. I've done it this way for years. A butcher told me that meat,(ie. beef, venison), can and should hang for up to ten days, in a constant, controled temperature, low 30's, as in a walk in cooler, for optimum flavor and tenderness. Most of us dont have acess to this type of cooler, but the refridgerator works just fine.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

For the guys relying on the ice and small cooler year after year, or bits cut up & in the 'fridge, might I suggest building a small closet sized (4'X4' would be plenty big enough) hut in the backyard and hooking in a small portable airconditioner. Well insulated with styrofoam it'll keep your deer cool enough for a week or so, and it won't skyrocket your electrical bill 'cause you plug it in only when you need it.

RC

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

dunno if I agree with that. I have eatin deer butchered immediatly after they cooled off for a couple hours and also after letting them hang for a few days. Both taste good, that part comes from the meat handling. The breaking down is for Marbled meat which wild game is not. I tried doing meat immediatly after cooling them done (easier to cut then when still warm), it tastes just as great as letting them hang. One thing about letting them hang is cutting off the 'casing' that becomes on the outside of the skin. Waste of meat imo. Granted on our fly out float hunts its all we can do to get them hung and cooled off and they dont get butchered right away. Shot a bou a couple years ago, drove home the next morning, butchered that nite (it was frozen by then as it was -30 when I shot the bou) Butchered that nite after it thawed a little....tastes no different then the ones we had to hang up and down for a couple days, not to mention the drive back, then waiting till the next day to butcher....beef yes...deer (or other non marbled game), sorry I'll pass! just my .02 though.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

To each his own, I guess. I have tried eating venison shortly after taking it, and found it to be much tougher. Also, I hang my deer with the hide on,(which a lot of people dont agree on either), until I bag it and put it in the refridgerator, so there is no chance for that 'casing' to form. I suspect we all do them a little differently, and chances are they're all tasty.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

we do cool ours off as fast as possible, so its not right from field, hang to get the hide and butcher there is a couple hours where the meat cools mainly to assit in easier cutting. Then again I hear ya there Slo!

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

I have had deer meat both ways from hanging for days back when my dad hunted Pa and there was snow on the ground most of the winter.He grew up on a farm and believed in hanging deer like beef.Personally I have not seen a big difference in taste at all maybe because here in Pa the majority of deer shot are young deer.If I was to shoot a buck 7 or 8 yrs old I might think about hanging it if possible then I am dreaming anyway.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

I have heard of people handing deer for up to 28 days in temps below 40. We typically try to let them hand for 5-7 basically, depending on the weather. This past season I took my first bow kill, weather was in the 50s during the day, shot it near sunset. So we let it hand overnight in the 30s and butchered it the next morning. Tastes as good as the doe last year that hung for 4 days in the 30s. I am no expert, my plan is to always cool the meat down as fast as possible after the kill and after that I hope to get the blood out by hanging it, and the rest depends on the weather.

--Jim

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

My Dad's been a butcher for 45 years. He's butchered our deer and others for 28 years. We skin them asap because it's much easier when the hide is warm. I know because I've skinned hundres of 'em. Then we hang 'em in his walk-in cooler for atleast 2 days. Only because it's easier to cut the meat from the bone and the meat is firmer when you grind it for burger and sausage, when it's cool. I think the tenderness and taste has more to do with the age of the deer then with how long it is hanging.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

venison always taste good.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

I read somewhere that within 24 hours of harvesting a deer the meat will be tender when cut up. after that it will slightly toughen and then start to break down. after the 3rd day you are back to the tenderness of the first day. anything after that you will be gaining tenterness? I don't know if I agree with this? I always work mine up asap. Usually within one day, but I am an ex-meat cutter so that helps. I have never had a bad tasting venison, or tough.

EAT What You Harvest, Mobrandy

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

I have had some rancid moose. The guy shot it, the stinker died in a pond of all places. His wifes buddies husband was a butcher. They proceeded to wade waist deep and quarter that moose out leaving the hide on it. This guy threw the meat up on the dirt banks (my buddy was a wee bit ticked about that and proceeded to take a tarp break if you catch my drift). That nite I went over and helped debone everything. This was over 8 hours later. The meat nearest the bone was still warm! (you talk a learning experience!). Well it took him 2 days to butcher that 'little' spike bull moose out and man that was the WORST eating meat I have had up here next to caribou in rut.

I hear ya Ds, there is hardly bad venison if its taken care of properly before-during-and after it hits the plate!

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

I never have harvested a deer. I killed several dozean. I've shot some too. But never have harvested one.

RE: After you harvest your deer WITH YOUR BOW.
 

Really David? I have seen whole fields of deer harvested during rifle season...<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

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I have never let my deer hang for very long. I usually end up butchering it within 5 or 6 hours after it has been shot. Maybe I will try it a different way next year.