Hanging An Animal
 

How long do you hang your animal after he is skinned and gutted? What is a good temperature to hang in? What temp would be to HOT to hang in. I don't have a meat locker so the only choice I have is in my garage. I was living in an apartment 2 years ago when I bagged my bear. I had to hang him in a friends garage for three days. Problem is the weather turned warm the last day. I cut him up and put him in the refrigerator at home while I processed the meat. I finally got around to the last cut, the ribs, about 4 days later and they were covered in mold. I ended up throwing them out. I blamed the hot weather on spoiling the meat. All of the other meat was good and in fact we are still eating it. We had some bear roats the other night. My wife is wanting me to get another one this year. So how long do you hang meat and at what temperature range?

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

depends, if its warm i do it rite then and put it on ice, if its cold i let it hang till dayligt the next morning after the hunt ofcoarse.

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

Same here!

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

a good temp. to let him hang over night or possibly two days is around 32 degrees or colder, we did that when i lived in missouri, but when i moved to georgia, i will kill it and cut it within the hour, you can still let the meat sit just put it in a cooler with plenty of ice and keep changing it out. to hot would be anything over 40 (that is my opinion, my aunt and uncle own are butchers, they do not agree, they think anything over freezing can go bad, but i havent been sick yet) good luck

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

Down here it is almost always too hot to let meat hang. I always quarter my deer and put it in an ice chest. I used to be antsy about getting it processed, usually within a day or two, if I was still out hunting. After seeing people letting meat stay on ice for 7-9 days, I don't worry about it anymore. Just keep the water drained off, and add new ice when needed, and it ages the meat, and allows the blood to drain out too. It's about the same as hanging it for a while.

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

OIC, I thought this was something to do with Lynching.:D

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

We gut our deer at camp and ity is always cold in the UP so depending on the day of the kill, it might hang for up to 4 days in the cold weather.

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

I also hunt in the UP and it is usually plenty cold to let a deer hang for a day if it needs to. I have never been a big fan of letting the deer hang for days on end before butchering it. We do all of our own processing and it is really not a hard process. In a different post, someone had mentioned that you would never think of hanging a t-bone outside for days...so why do it to a deer. I have to agree with that post. I think that "gamey" meat can generally be blamed on the handler. A properly cleaned and trimmed animal is the best way to deliver quality meat to the table. Processing when still warm is best way in my opinion and then removing all silver skin and fat.

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

We will usually hang the deer for about 12-14 hours before it is cut. The deer will get skinned the day - usually within a few hours - of being hung up, and then the next day it will get cut up. South Dakota in November is usually pretty chilly so heat is not really a problem.

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

I have been hanging and processing my own meat for about 10 years. I learned From an old country butcher who was in business for over 60+ years. First of all you should be using a cooler, you cant control the temperature in a garage. Its really dangerous and your tempting to spoil or contaminateyour meat. This can happen in a surprisingly short amount of time. I prefer to hang my animals with the skin still on. This keeps the meat clean andacts as an insulator. (The skin keeps the animal warm while he his alive and helps it stay cool once you've got him hung up.) The skin alsoacts an air tight wrapper preventing the meat from darkening and drying out. I generally hang my animalsby the neck or by tyeing a rope around the base of the rack. Hanging the animal hams down allows anyblood and bloody water to drain from theabdominal cavitythrough the opening at the ass end. (Its the Blood and bloody water that speeds the spoilage of meat.) I also cut the legs off at the knee or hock joint to allow blood to drain from the large muscle groups.I hang the animalfor 7 to 8 days at a controlled temperaturearound 45 degrees. This temperature allows the SAFE bacteria to grow thus tenderizing and adding flavor to the meat. Around day 4 or 5 you will see the formation of a Grey mold on the exposed areas of the hams by the abdominal cavity. This is NOT a sign of spoilage it justgrows from being exposed to Air and high humidity. (This is the same mold that forms on Country Ham and chesses.) You just wash it off when you butcher your meat.By hanging the animal this way you will notice aconsiderable lack of blood and mess while butchering. Your meat will also cut allot easier and neater using this method. Not to mention that skinning is just a matter of cut and pull. NOTE: You'll need to remove the "Inner loins" prior to hanging, they will be exposedto the air and will dry out quickly. There is allot of discussion personalopinionabout Temperature and and hang time.This is the system that works for me. Ive been doing it this way for along time, no one has died and many people have commented that my deer doesn't have a "Gamey" Taste.This method is mainly for deer, if you don't have access to a large cooler you may want to invest in a couple of used refrigerators and quarter you meat to hang. But the whole hanging meat in a garage is in my opinion a badidea. Good luck in your future hunts and continue being a bringer of meat.

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

Follow the same general guidelines as those used to age beef. Either "dry ageing" the entire animal, or "in the bag ageing" the individual cuts in the refrigirator.

How to Age Beef
If you are personally aging a beef carcass, remember some important considerations about aging. The beef carcass or side should be aged in sanitary surroundings. Also, the aging area should be free of products such as kerosene, gasoline, paint, onions, and fish, since the carcass will absorb these undesirable odors. Because meat is a perishable product, it can spoil at temperatures of 40 to 60 degrees F. Therefore, maintain the temperature at 30 to 35 degrees F while the beef carcass is being aged. Sawdust should not be used on floors because it will contribute to air contamination. Carcasses and wholesale cuts should be properly spaced to allow complete circulation of air around the product. Freezing the carcass temporarily stops the aging process and should be avoided.
Recently interest has increased in short-time (12 hours) aging at 60 to 66 degrees F to speed up the aging process. The carcass is then placed in a 32 to 34 degrees F cooler to chill and complete the aging process. This procedure benefits cow beef more than steer or heifer beef, because cow beef is usually less tender. Apparently, carcasses with a thin fat covering would benefit more than fatter carcasses. However, the effect of this short-time, high-temperature aging on bacterial growth on and in the carcass is not understood fully.
Also remember that fat protects the meat from dehydration. Therefore, if you are aging a beef carcass with very little fat, you can expect a higher weight loss during the aging process than would occur normally with a fatter carcass. Maintaining the aging cooler at 85 percent relative humidity will keep weight losses down during prolonged aging. Carcasses with little external fat are more likely to pickup undesirable cooler odors and should thus be aged no more than five days.
Because of the drying process that takes place during aging, molds often grow on the carcass. If this occurs, merely trim off the mold (and accompanying fat or lean) at the time of processing and discard it. Do not use this trimmed-off portion in ground beef.
Some believe that it is possible to age beef in the refrigerator in the unfrozen, retail cut form. Research concerning the effectiveness of this practice is lacking. However, if you try aging beef in the refrigerator, eat it before an off-odor or off-color develops.



Dry vs. 'In The Bag'
The previous discussion has centered on aging carcasses and wholesale cuts (e.g., ribs and loins) in a cooler of some type. This process is referred to as "dry" aging. If you have an animal slaughtered at a plant or buy a side of beef, aging would likely take place in this manner.
Currently, about 90 percent of the beef shipped from the point of slaughter is shipped as boxed beef. Boxed beef is wholesale cuts packaged into vacuum packages (bags) and placed into a box for shipping. The retailer stores boxed beef under refrigeration until meat is needed for display and sale. The bag is opened and the meat cut into retail cuts. During the period meat is in the bag, it does actually age and is referred to as "aging in the bag."
There is considerable debate in the industry as to which process results in the most desirable flavor. Most people agree that dry aging results in a unique flavor. However, persons not familiar with dry aged beef often describe it as slightly "musty" in flavor when eaten for the first time. One study (J. Food Sci., 50:1544) observed that dry aging resulted in a more intense beef flavor compared with aging "in the bag." However, overall eating satisfaction was higher in cooked steaks aged "in the bag" because of fewer off-odors and off-flavors. It is known that the predominant microorganisms present after dry aging are the pseudomonads whereas the lactobacilli are the most prevalent in beef aged in the bag. It is also well-known that less shrinkage occurs with beef aged in the bag as compared with dry aging.

RE: Hanging An Animal
 

all that hanging may be a myth.......gut em , cut em , soak em in salty cold water....use a little vinegar helps break down protein which keeps it from being tough and helps to free hair from meat. Soak afew hours to get most of the blood then dry ,cut it up how you want, wrap, and freeze. Use salt and vinegar deal after thawing cook em up and ENJOY