Venison and the grasp of what makes venison wild NOW WITH 2 NEW PHOTOS

[bip]

99,

For a bit??? Hmmm, ok. Maybe I need to write a book on my experiences and then you can buy it too. ???

 

[99Tarbox]

I sure would!

 

[Carp]

Good write-up. When I started deer hunting we always processed our own meat. I didn't know there was such a thing as a deer processor. My Brother in Law had an old fridge and we would hang the meat with metal coat hangers. Sometimes for weeks. It sure was tender.

 

[7Mag Hunter]

Good info.......
I age my deer, skin on in a lawn shed I have a small AC unit in, or
my small hunt camper with AC on....3-4 days....

Another way to draw blood from frozen venison, and add 2-3 days
extra aging time is to slowly thaw the meat, by placing unwrapped
venison in a colander which is placed in a larger bowl (to catch blood),
with both colander and bowl covered with wet dish towel.....
Several ounces of bloody liquid will be collected by the time the venison
is thawed.......It will take 2-3 days to thaw, depending on
the temp of your refrigerator....

 

[specialk]

for me it's no need to age any length of time because all I do is straight grind and cube........i will do an occasional roast, but mine are done in a crokpot.....but i did enjoy reading your post.....

 

[bip]

Thanks Carp... to me it definitely makes a difference.

Thanks 7mag... That is a great thought, makes me wonder if that would be a good start for my process, freeze it first then let it thaw completely, adding an additional 7 to 10 days...... I might have to try a quarter or something the next time.

Thanks Special K... To me any process is going to be good as long as there is venison in the freezer.

 

[99Tarbox]

Found a great resource on this whole process. It talks about why aging is important and what the time frames are for when you should and shouldn't process meat, including venison. "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" Stanley Marianski, Adam Marianski

The info in bold below I found particularly interesting.

Meat Aging When an animal dies, the oxygen stops flowing and many reactions take place inside. For a few hours the meat remains relaxed and may still be processed or cooked. Then muscles contract and the meat stiffens which is known as the “rigor mortis� stage. During that stage, which lasts differently for different animals, the meat should not be processed or cooked as the resulting product will be tough. Meat stock prepared from meats still in the rigor mortis stage is cloudy and has poor flavor. When this stage ends, the meat enters rigor stage and is kept in a cooler. In time it becomes tender again and is ready for processing. It is widely accepted that this happens due to the changes in the protein structure. The length of rigor mortis or rigor stage directly depends on temperature. The higher the temperature, the shorter the stages and vice versa. Make note that aging meat at high temperature will help bacteria to grow and will adversely affect meat’s shelf keeping qualities.



Looking at the above data, it becomes conclusive that the aging process is more important for animals which are older at the slaughter time (cattle, venison). Warm meat of a freshly slaughtered animal exhibits the highest quality and juiciness. Unfortunately there is a very narrow window of opportunity for processing it. The slaughter house and the meat plant must be located within the same building to be effective. Meat that we buy in a supermarket has already been aged by a packing house. If an animal carcass is cooled too rapidly (below 50° F, 10° C) before the onset of the rigor (within 10 hours), the muscles may contract which results in tough meat when cooked. This is known as “cold shortening.â€� To prevent this the carcass is kept at room temperature forsome hours to accelerate rigor and then aged at between 30-41° F, (-1 - 5° C).

Marianski, Stanley (2013-02-01). Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages (Kindle Locations 82-83). Bookmagic LLC. Kindle Edition.

 

[bip]

I got the book today and it has some really good reading. I will be glad when I have the time to sit and concentrate on the read. Thanks for this information 99. Awesome information!

 

[bip]

Anyone wanting to age or cure or make sausage has a serious need to get this book. It is awesome and I am not even half way through the book.

 

[bip]

During two of my other projects I realized I have photos that compare the difference between meat that has and has not been aged. Remember, aging the meat pulls moisture out and in essence concentrates the meat. Below are pictures, one from a deer processor who had the deer processed in 3 days and the other I aged for a week in my extra refrigerator. In my time processing I have not purchased a cuber for my grinder therefor if I want cubed venison I have to take the deer to the processor.

Back-strap from the processor:



Back-strap I aged:



Both pictures are in the same light source and taken in the same general area of the counter. The areas that look darker in the one I aged are actually where I trimmed it just before the picture. The picture from the processor was also trimmed with no change in color. What do you think?

 

[fireman32]

The dry aged looks a lot better, defitanely gonna have to try your way next season.

 

[bip]

Marianski, Stanley (2013-02-01). Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages (Kindle Locations 82-83). Bookmagic LLC. Kindle Edition.

I found this in the great book (Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages) Tarbox recommended to me, and posted it for a glimpse of how aging venison affects tenderness.

 

[Geffellz18]

Great! Gunna make me go buy another fridge. Great write up bip. Thanks for sharing!

 

[bip]

You are welcome Geffellz18..... All I can say about the fridge you buy is, make sure it has racks, not glass shelves.

 

[Nicodemus]

This is a really informative thread. Thank you kindly for it.

 

[bip]

You are welcome Nicodemus

 

[nockemstiff]

Wow, the pictures sure show a very big difference. Unfortunately, mine always look more like picture #1. Might be time to change that. Thanks for this awesome thread.

 

[bip]

Wow, the pictures sure show a very big difference. Unfortunately, mine always look more like picture #1. Might be time to change that. Thanks for this awesome thread.

Your welcome Nock..... Next season if I am fortunate enough to harvest another deer I will try to post the process with some pictures.

 

[fireman32]

I would love to see pics of the process, my charcuterie book just arrived yesterday, time to study.