I age my deer in an extra refrigerator skinned and quartered for 14-21 days, depending on when I have time to process.

I am in the cattle business so I know a little bit about cattle aging and tenderness.

It is widely accepted that the longer you age beef the more tender it will be. Commericial packing plantsusually age beef aminimum of 14 days, and higher end "branded products" will be aged a minimum of 21 days. It would be even more tender at 28 days but not enoughimprovement to justify carrying the inventory an additional week.

Bacteria present on the carcassis part of what causes thetenderization, never heard ofjust an enzyme being the reason.I may be too skeptic, but it is my guess that a local butcher told you the above information so that hecould justify NOT aging your deer, but maybe I am wrong.

Could you direct me to one of these studies?

The length of time I let my deer hang depends on the outside temps. In WV during early Bow season, it can be 70+ on some days.I have access to a walk in cooler and use it form time to time to hang and skin so I don't have to fight the flies and yellowjackets..[:@]

Most of the time I will skin it in the evening (to avoid flies and yellowjackets) and put it on ice in the cooler. I will leave it in the cooler 7-10 days before I cut it up and package it. I drain the bloody water off of it as needed and add ice as needed.

I think you should go do your own study, and then get back to us. I have done mine, so I'm not going to debate over something you simply heard.

Kevin,
It really is not ROTTING per se, but allowing some of the proteins to de-nature, and allows for maximum "deadness." And really, it's a controlled "rotting" that offers a better tasting product.

Dude, if that is how you’re going to look at it, fine. But then you’ll also need to stay well clear of all cheeses, beer & wine. And you probably don’t want to eat beef either unless you butcher it yourself.
Good luck.

Somebody on here should be able to dig up the study on adging deer .It was outdoor life or noth american whitetail It was in the early 80s ,done in alabama at a large meat plant.They did it every way ,hair on, hair off ,1 day ,5 days up to maybe 5 weeks . They used dozens of taste testers and score cards. The best was 28 days at 38 degrees with hair on. I used a gutted out fridge . Some people might call it rotten but I call good eaten.


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Well guys my neighbor gave me access to his walk-in set at 34 deg. I took a 115# 2.5 yr old doe 3 weeks ago and I cut her last night. This is what prompted me to ask. Some of the "Old Heads" hangin around their said "if you can you should let her hang w/ hide on, she'll only taste better", so I'll let you"all know what my thaught is. All th deer around here taste pritty good anyhow cause of the corn, soy and rich neighborhood landscaping. I'll say this alot harder to skin, and meat seemed more tender to cut. Gonna do a taste test tomorrow night. My 8 yr old son is dieing to get at it!

I let mine hang for 2 weeks with the hide on no matter what I'm doing with the meat, burger or prime cuts! After a few days the enzymes start to break down the muscle tissue, thus a more tender and less gamey meat! My buddy let one of his hind quarters hang for 4 weeks and had mold on the outside, some of the best I've had! He lost a little meat because he had to cut the outside dry meat/mold way but sure was tasty! I will always age mine for at least 2 weeks from now on. If the weather is warn, I will quarter it up and age it in the fridge!

I have heard some people swear by letting meat age with the hide on but for me having to skin a stiff frozen deer is the definition of pain in the hind end. instead as soon as i get it home i hang it up and skin it while its still steaming warm and that hide peels right off like a banana. I usually let it hang overnight to let the meat firm up a little bit, but not to the point where it is really frozen. Then i bone it out and bring it inside and try to talk my g/f into trimming it up and packaging it haha. Trying to trim every little piece of fat off the meat is so tedious and drives me nuts, two years ago i was sitting at the table doing it and she walked up and goes "hey that looks like fun!" so naturally i was like "oh it sure is honey, why don't you sit down and i will get you a knife!" haha she does a real good job of it too, i got two doe this year and the second one she cut up almost all by herself, that's love right there!

5days in a cooler, skined.