When to eat deer meat.
#14
Never heard of this and I'm not worried, imho. I used to cut up a couple hundred deer a year. The only reason anything had to hang in the cooler, is we didn't have to man power to cut it up faster. Meat will age just as well in a bucket as it will on the body (At the right temperature, meaning NOT frozen). And aging is way different than curing.
Actually, we didn't like them to hang. Venison being so lean, drys up so easy. And now that I think about it, by the time a deer hit my cutting table, it was usually days old anyway. It was unusual, even for me, to get a deer back to the shop in less than 2 days. So right there is your "aging" time.
Also, skinning a fresh one is a different sport than one hanging for a week and frozen. A 5 minute job with warm hands becomes a 20 job with frozen fingers. We didn't care if it was skinned or not when it got to the shop because all the deer got torched to burn off excess hair anyway.
Cutting up a fresh kill versus a frozen is again, no comparison.
And finally, eating a fresh kill is to die for.... I love cooking up a whole loin that marinated overnight or backstraps with my eggs. We always shoot one in the first two weeks of bow and eat it all season. It's a great tradition.
Every hunter should butcher one deer in their life. It's a wealth of knowledge and a great part of the journey.
Sorry for being long winded on this one....
Actually, we didn't like them to hang. Venison being so lean, drys up so easy. And now that I think about it, by the time a deer hit my cutting table, it was usually days old anyway. It was unusual, even for me, to get a deer back to the shop in less than 2 days. So right there is your "aging" time.
Also, skinning a fresh one is a different sport than one hanging for a week and frozen. A 5 minute job with warm hands becomes a 20 job with frozen fingers. We didn't care if it was skinned or not when it got to the shop because all the deer got torched to burn off excess hair anyway.
Cutting up a fresh kill versus a frozen is again, no comparison.
And finally, eating a fresh kill is to die for.... I love cooking up a whole loin that marinated overnight or backstraps with my eggs. We always shoot one in the first two weeks of bow and eat it all season. It's a great tradition.
Every hunter should butcher one deer in their life. It's a wealth of knowledge and a great part of the journey.
Sorry for being long winded on this one....
#15
Sounds more like trichinosis?? They suggest you freeze meat that could contain trichinosis for a while OR cook well done before consuming, but this usually pertains to animals that eat carrion, like bears, hogs, or mountain lions.
#17
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: southwestern va
Posts: 753
ive never heard of freezing meat to kill parasites, just the opposite. If you are worried about something in the meat then pressure cook it first then cook and not only will it be super tender but will kill anything possibly living in it.
As to the hanging meat to let it cure, i wondered about that as well (if aging deer would make for tastier meat). Seems like i read somewhere that because deer is so lean, the aging process actually hurts the taste of the meat (versus beef where there is a lot of fat in the meat, the aging tenderizes it and improves the taste).
As to the hanging meat to let it cure, i wondered about that as well (if aging deer would make for tastier meat). Seems like i read somewhere that because deer is so lean, the aging process actually hurts the taste of the meat (versus beef where there is a lot of fat in the meat, the aging tenderizes it and improves the taste).
#20
Typical Buck
Join Date: May 2010
Location: South East Pa.
Posts: 526
When I was a kid the old guys would not hunt rabbits until a good frost to "Kill the worms". When I trapped nobody started until hides were prime. I was told it was because of insect eggs in the hides. I don't know that I believe either one, but that is how rumors start.