I usually let my deer hang 3 or more days with skin on if it's cool enough. Skin it and cool it out in the cooler for a day and then work it up. Seems to make bucks taste better as well.

Spudrow from Mo

i hang it until i have time to carve it up. Usually a day, two at most. I don't worry about the way it tastes, if I didn't like the taste of it I wouldn't kill it.

If I wanted my deer burger to taste like hamburger I'd just buy hamburger or shoot a cow.

My dad use to hang deer for a few days and then quarter it and put it in a freezer with the lid cracked open if we couldn't get to it right away and I dont really think it makes that much of a difference. I take my deer to my prosessor and he usually has it done the next day and I dont think it tastes any different than if it was "cured" for a few days. I have been told that if you remove the silver skin from the meat that it doesn't have that wild taste. One more thing for you to consider is to add about 10 lb of ground pork to your ground meat. Ido mine that way and it makes a world of a difference. Just my $.2

Usually 2-3 days, but as long as its in the walk in (under 40 degrees), it can age for a good while

I didn't say to make it taste like hamburger, lol. I gree, hamburgers should taste like hamburger, fish like fish, steak like steak, etc.I said to make it taste a little better. Bucks seem to be a little tougherand sometimesthe taste isn't what it should beand hanging them for a while gives them a better taste.Especially when they are rutting. Just like hanging a beef to improve the taste. Heck they are even harder to skin.At least in our opinion.


Spudrow from MO

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I shot a big buck on opening day of rifle season, which is rare because I don't like the way a large buck tastes in peak rut... So I hung him in my garage for 2 weeks with the skin on, then 2 days with the skin off. Usually people only age game long enough so that the muscles relax, but if you age it longer, enzymes break down the connective tissue, resulting in very tender and "milder" meat. Last night I had some round steaks, and the meat had the texture of corned beef, resulting in the best ROUND steaks I've ever had.

That's what I'm talking about.



Spudrow from Mo

I usually let mine hang a week without hide and cut in half. In rifle its not just to age it but to wait if I shoot more to butcher all at once. I just age as a habit. I never tried a day old meat at the same time as a week aged meat, so I don't know much of a difference in taste.

I skin mine immediately and hang in a cooler where I keep the temp about 35 degrees. I usually let a buck hang for at least 3 or 4 days and a week doesn't hurt anything. Usually it has to do more with how much time I have to cut up a deer. Recently I let a doe hang 8 days because I was busy hunting and working. They can hang a long time with no ill effect if the temp is kept low.