Aging Meat

teej89 · Aug 4, 2017

Fueled by another thread about this and didn't want to hijack it...

Question... this is going to be my first fall butchering and I was looking into aging the deer in a fridge first. Also because this would give me the option of butchering the deer on my own time, not the night/evening that I've killed it.

I was looking at buying another fridge for my town home and essentially bringing the deer back, quartering it, hanging those in the fridge, and processing the rest of the deer.

Does anyone do this? I'm looking on CL and if you do what size fridge would you recommend? I only foresee having 1 deer in there at a time.

Nutrioso · Aug 4, 2017

Steve Rinella's Meat Eater podcast several weeks ago had an detailed discussion on aging meet, including details on using a fridge. I don't have the technical skill to post a link, but if you look through the liner notes of his recent episodes you will be able to find it.

Clawsar · Aug 4, 2017

Nutrioso said:
Steve Rinella's Meat Eater podcast several weeks ago had an detailed discussion on aging meet, including details on using a fridge. I don't have the technical skill to post a link, but if you look through the liner notes of his recent episodes you will be able to find it.

Are you referring to the one with the chef? That was a fridge set up just for aging I think (added fan, etc.). Was the OP asking for a custom fridge or just aging in the standard fridge? That podcast talked about how keeping good air circulation around all of the meat was key for what that's worth...

Anschutz · Aug 4, 2017

Growing up we had an extra fridge in the garage. It was a standard size fridge and my old man put a 1 inch or so wooden rod in there to hang meat from. It had room for 2 deer worth of quarters and in the rear there was a small rack for the backstraps. This especially helped if we both got deer within a few days of each other. The meat usually hung for a week before processing. Also don't discount the Facebook marketplace to look for a fridge.

teej89 · Aug 4, 2017

What cubic ft should I look into tho?

devon deer · Aug 4, 2017

I use an old drinks fridge (Stella Lager!) which has the all important fan, i usually hang the deer in the skin for around 5 days.
If you don't have a fan in the fridge you might get mould growth.
Cheers
Richard

Redman · Aug 4, 2017

I just have an old freezer fridge combo and lay the quarters on the metal racks. I leave it in there for a week and turn the meat once a day. I have put 2 deer in at once but it gets tight.

KJH · Aug 4, 2017

My dad has ALWAYS skinned his deer then hung in a steel shed with a temp just above freezing for 14 days before butchering. He'll even scrape a little mold off some years. His meat is always amazing. He wouldn't think of butchering within 14 days. He doesn't want the hide on, which wastes some meat, since you have to trim it. I always thought he was odd in doing so, but the older I get the more I like the idea. He only hunts where you drive up to the deer and hang it to field dress it with a loader... I suppose you could do the same with quarters on the bone.

I'd try it now, but I don't have a way to hang it that long at the right temperature.

Gr8bawana · Aug 4, 2017

Before I started butchering my own game I would take it to my processor and have them hang it for a week before butchering. Now I just leave the skinned quarters in my extra fridge for a week and butcher at my convenience.
It may just be anecdotal but the only 2 animals I butchered and froze the same day tasted fine but were very tough.
Now I age everything for at least a week whether it's a deer, antelope or elk.

choc dogs · Aug 4, 2017

I usually age in the freezer. I have had moments of plenty when I have left deer in the fridge for a couple of days, butchering a couple each night. I just use the beer fridge in the garage. Have to justify it somehow. It's a 15 year old model, about normal size and I usually try to get stuff out as quickly as possible.

Steiny · Aug 7, 2017

I have a small walk in cooler and usually hang them 3-5 days, skinned in game bags.
If you go any longer than that you get an inedible dried out crust on the outside of meat and a fair amount of waste. Have not seen any improvement in meat quality by hanging longer either.

If no access to a fridge or cooler, I lay ice in bottom of big cooler, a thin board on top of the ice, then quarters.

Aging Meat

teej89

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Nutrioso

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Clawsar

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Anschutz

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teej89

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devon deer

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Redman

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KJH

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Gr8bawana

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choc dogs

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Steiny

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