Hanging deer

[Candice_h]

Hey guys need some guidance. I took a buck at sunset yesterday and skinned and hung it right away. I would like to hang it for a week but a few days have a high of 6 according to the forecast. Will my deer be okay hanging with the low temps over night?

[js4fn]

Can you keep it out of the sun

[Ata83]

Congrats on the buck !

following to see the responses, but we sometimes dry age meat outside, wrapped in cheese cloth. not 100% positive why.

[OLD TIMER]

6 C is good. you will have no problems. I personally don't skin them until the day before butchering it prevents the outer layer becoming real dry and you don't need to trim it of. You save a bit of meat. at 4 C you can hang for 2 to 4 weeks make sure you have some fan to provide air circulation. Everyone has different opinions on this subject. I have hung moose at an abatoir for 35 days at 4 C and controlled humidity. Best meat ever had

[Articcat]

Congrats on your buck
Should be no problem to hang for a week as long as you keep dry and out of the sun preferably in a garage or shed.
The only worry would be if the carcass freezes solid then tough to butcher

[MikePal]

Very few deer in southern Ontario need to hang at all...most are agriculturally feed (farm fields etc.)

If you shot a yearling buck or doe, process it now. These deer are tender by nature and don’t need as much hang time. Shorten the hang time if temps are on the high side (up into the 40s), as this makes both collagen breakdown and bacterial growth happen faster.

You must maintain a temperature of 34 to 37 degrees. (0-3 C) to actually age it properly...requires a walk-in cooler.

[Sprite]

I leave our deer hanging for 5-6 days skin on, and then skin before butchering. At 6C you're good as long as it's sheltered and not in the sun.

-N.

[Candice_h]

Very few deer in southern Ontario need to hang at all...most are agriculturally feed (farm fields etc.)

I dont know his age but he had a large body small 6 point rack. He also walked with a major limp and I'm sure I've seen his track on this farm for the past three years.Buck.jpg
The arrow in the bottom is a sadly the finishing shot. The original shot was perfect but found him alive for some reason.

[rf2]

Why not just butcher it right away? I never age my deer, and the meat is always great. If butchering yourself and you have a spare fridge, store the quarters in the fridge while you work on it, or consider it the "aging" period.

Edit: Congratulations on the deer, by the way!

[sabmgb]

my rule of thumb is 5C, make sure the belly is spread, keep out of sun and a breeze is nice don't skin until time to butcher. Skinned once the day before the butcher got there, boy was he pissed. The outside meat was all dry and he had to trim it all off. The butcher also said that deer didn't need to be aged as the meat is not marbled like beef.