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Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
My brother and I had a discussion last night on the way home from hanging a stand. We talked about how tired we are after finally locating, field dressing and dragging and then having to cut it up. I wondered if we are doing ourselves a disservice by cutting it up the same day. I've heard people like to "hang them" and get them "seasoned" but don't know if its the right thing to do.
Do you guys/gals cut yours up right away or do you let them hang? If you do let them hang, do you skin them and put something over it? Thanks for your advice. |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Ours are skinned and quarteredand in the cooler within 2 hours of harvest.
The whole process takes less than an hour. Once they are in the cooler you have at least 4 days to process em or get him to the processor. |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
My buddies and I like to hang them if we can. If the weather is cold enough, we hang them for a day or so. If not, we pack them with ice and hang them 24 hours then butcher them.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
It depends on the weather. If its cold enough just let it hang with the skin on (field dressed of course). Here in TX its usually always too hot to let them hang so we quarter them us asap and get the quarters into the cooler. Then we have a couple days to get back to it and cut into steaks and such.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Depends on the weather for me. I will usually wait till the next day if weather permits. If not, i dont have problem with doing it the same day
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Once its home its all skun and cut up in about an hour! I dont waste time doing it!
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Weather depending. If it is warm, I skin and and debone the meat immediatley. Then leave it in the coolers to age. If It is cold, but not freezing, then I will let them hang with the hide on. If it is freezing, then the hide comes off right away. It takes a while for the carcass to freeze completely and during that time it will age. However, removing the hide when frozen is extremely difficult.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Well, I'm going to have to butcher them as soon as I kill them this year. I currently live in an apartment complex and there is no other option.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
I usually cut them up the same day unless it is real cold, then I don't worry about it as much. "Aging" me is pronounced "rotting" so it is not something I like to do.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
ORIGINAL: YooperMike I usually cut them up the same day unless it is real cold, then I don't worry about it as much. "Aging" me is pronounced "rotting" so it is not something I like to do. |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
If weather permits I like to let them hang over night to set up. I then debone the entire deer and bag it in freezer bags and freeze it. It then waits for the call from my butcher for delivery to be made into bologna.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
I never hang them. I just butcher them right away.
Tom |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Well first we get the animal home and we skin it there, be it a deer or moose we are setup for it. We half it, then if its a elk or moose we quarter it. Then i take a stiff brush and get all the hair off, then i take hot water and completely wash the animal off. Then we move it to the meat cooler, we have a A/C unit in there and the room is completely insulated and we pull a tarp across so we dont try to keep the whole garage cool. Now depending on the size of the animal and the temp we are able to keep the animals at depends on how long we let them hang. Deer we will at max let hang for a week, bigger game such as moose or elk we usually let the fronts hang for a week and the hinds 2 weeks, only if we can keep it cold enough, if its too warm we will cut it up within a few days unless it is way too hot then we will do it that day or the next morning. We make all our own cuts since we learnt the proper way of doing it from my uncle who was a butcher for 30 years. The only thing we dont do is sausage, pepperoni and jerky, we do make our own hamburger though.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
When you refer to quartering, are you just cutting off the hind and front legs, removing the backstraps and tenderloins and putting the lets in the cooler? |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Wow...never seen a Moose being skinned.....that looks huge!!!
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
The weather makes my decision for me.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
I hang mine for a day with the hide onif it is not too warm. (May be tough this year.)
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
ORIGINAL: City Slicker When you refer to quartering, are you just cutting off the hind and front legs, removing the backstraps and tenderloins and putting the lets in the cooler? ORIGINAL: City Slicker Wow...never seen a Moose being skinned.....that looks huge!!! |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
ORIGINAL: Gundeck I hang mine for a day with the hide onif it is not too warm. (May be tough this year.) |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
All depends on temps outside usually if its cold enough deer will hang for a < week
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
I noticed in your photo you've got a piece of wood(?) spreading the rib cage....why is that?
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Whats the warmest temp that you guys will age your deer?
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
I like meat to be hung for 2-3 days if possible in 40degree weather. If I know its going to be well below freezing that night, I won't let it sit outside, if I know its going to be over 55F during the day, I will start cutting it up. Its rare I get to let meat hang for more than a day. Weather usually won't cooperate.
But with early season right now, its gets skinned and the whole hinds taken out out along with shoulders and backstraps and put in a cooler with ice packs for a day or two. |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
ORIGINAL: City Slicker I noticed in your photo you've got a piece of wood(?) spreading the rib cage....why is that? |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
ORIGINAL: lethalconnection Well first we get the animal home and we skin it there, be it a deer or moose we are setup for it. We half it, then if its a elk or moose we quarter it. Then i take a stiff brush and get all the hair off, then i take hot water and completely wash the animal off. Then we move it to the meat cooler, we have a A/C unit in there and the room is completely insulated and we pull a tarp across so we dont try to keep the whole garage cool. Now depending on the size of the animal and the temp we are able to keep the animals at depends on how long we let them hang. Deer we will at max let hang for a week, bigger game such as moose or elk we usually let the fronts hang for a week and the hinds 2 weeks, only if we can keep it cold enough, if its too warm we will cut it up within a few days unless it is way too hot then we will do it that day or the next morning. We make all our own cuts since we learnt the proper way of doing it from my uncle who was a butcher for 30 years. The only thing we dont do is sausage, pepperoni and jerky, we do make our own hamburger though.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
I prefer to hangfor 3 or 4 days if the weather is permitting. If it's too warm , I'm fortunate enough to have cold storage at my business to hang them. I enjoy walking into the cooler to check out my own, or any of my relatives latest kills.
I really feel the 3 -5 days ageing process makes a huge difference in the tenderness and taste of the meat. My uncle will age his deer a good week or better at times. If you don't have a cool place to hang, sometimes local farmers are cooperative and welcome a nice deer to hang in their cooler........ .......might have to give them a ham or loin, but it's well worth the relationship. |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
I'll hang a deer for up to five days if it doesn't get over 40 degrees. (Last year I actually left one for 10 days... but it was frozen solid for the first five days)
I'm not sure it does much for flavor, but I do think it makes it more tender. If I can't hang 'em, I'll keep the meat in the fridge or a iced up cooler for a couple days before freezing it. |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
i thought about hanging mine i plan to for next year have me a area i can do my own proccessing like a garage that has a drain and is tiled floor to roof for easy cleaning
but i am unsure what the beinifets are to hanging for ageing time either as for a cool place i figure i could get one or two big window ac units that can get the room down to a low temp |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
The benefits are better tasting meat supposedly. Thats what everyone says but I've never done it myself.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Like everyone who hangs their deer has said, weather permitting ...... if the weather will be 32 - 40 degrees consistantly, or I have a cooler available to hand them, I will age deer from 5 - 10 days .... one year we hung two for 2 weeks and the meat was excellent ... so to answer the question .... i cut it up if it's too warm, if not, I will hang it as long as I can
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
i always cut mine up right away and put it in the refrigerator then i cut it in smaller pieces a day or two later
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
I always skin and at least quarter the same day. I have two hour drive to and from my hunting property, so it's frequently a late into the evening activity.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Meat will age in the freezer just as good as hanging in a cool environment!!
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
if its cold i usually let it hang long enough for it to drain the blood out then its cut it up time.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
We used to take our deer skinned to the processor and have him let the deer hang for 5 to 7 days,but it is hard to get them to do that now because they need the space.if you can let it age a week then it will be better eating to me anyway.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
Always gut at first opportunity. Usually quarter and stow in cooler that night when everyone is back from
hunting and has a beer and a knife.:D |
RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
I usually quarter mine in the same day.....and it's not unusual to age in a cooler (on ice) for a week.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
After its skinned does anyone put anything on it to prevent bugs from getting on it?
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
We skin it and quarter it right away and then it hangs in a refridgerator for a couple of days.
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RE: Do you cut up your deer the same day as harvesting it?
City Slicker, if it's warm enough to worry about flies and such on the carcass then it's too warm to hang it.
You can use the cheese cloth type bags to help protect the meat. I've also heard of folks rubbing pepper on the meat to keep bugs off when it's warm. In warm weather, skin it and get it in the fridge or cooler asap. I've gotten meatfrom agame processor that had fly eggs in it. EWWWWWW!!!! [:'(] |
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