HuntingNet.com Forums - How long should a deer hang?

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ORIGINAL: KodiakArcher

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ORIGINAL: poconobowhunter

so what if you skin and quarter it and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days? does it matter if the skin is off? or does that play a part in the ageing prosses?

Skin on does not allow the meat to "age". What aging actually does is let bacteria at the meat to start breaking it down at a controlled rate. (The temp. and humidity are the controlling factors in the aging process.)

Since I pack all my deer out on my back it is boned out in the field. If conditions are right I will hang it in heavy duty game bags in a dry, cool place until I have time to deal with it which may be 5-7 days sometimes. I'm not sure that the aging process does anything with it, it's more a matter of convenience for me. I have processed and frozen some right away that I have shot in August and I honestly feel that is better meat but I think that's a factor of hormone levels between being shot in Aug. vs. Nov. rather than an aging issue.

This statement is one of the biggestmisconceptions of aging, is 100%false, and is precisely what you want to avoid. Bacteria breaking down meat is called rot, not aging. No one wants rotted meat. If you let the carcass exposed to air at temps much above 40-45 degrees, you will encourage bacterial rot.
What you want is to have the deer in a refrigerated state so that the natural process of enzyme production including lactic acids begins to breakdown fibrous tissue such as muscle. Lactic acids along with other enzymesare the source of the process that makes the meat more tender and begins about 24 hrs after the kill and continuesup untila week or two after the kill.Any longer hang time isunnecessary, but not harmful as long it is in a controlled temperature environment. Bacteria is what you are trying to avoid.