The flavor and quality of your deer meat can be impacted from the time you start to field dress the animal. Whenever time and conditions permit, you should age your venison for somewhere between four and 10 days to ensure the best flavor.
November 14, 2024
By C.J. Winand
As you read this, archery deer seasons are in across North America. Right now, most of our freezers are void of venison, so a need to tip something over resurfaces from seasons past.
When it comes to bowhunting, early-season harvests can be troublesome, especially if you get home late and the need for refrigeration becomes paramount in saving your hard-earned venison.
Although there’s no data on how many hunters butcher their own deer, I’m assuming it’s a fairly high percentage. Obviously, this depends on where you live (urban vs. rural), time of season (early vs. late season), proximity to butcher shops and the number of deer you harvest annually. But no matter the circumstances, the differences in taste and quality of your meat are significant, depending on whether you age your venison. The good news is that there is a cheap way to age venison yourself and enjoy all the pleasures of putting your own organic meat on the table.
Crucial questions to consider regarding the quality of your venison and, ultimately, your dinner include: How long should you wait before butchering your deer, and under what conditions? What are the benefits of letting the meat sit before butchering it as opposed to doing it right away? Why does this waiting period affect the quality of the meat? How long should you let the deer hang, and what are the proper and safe conditions for aging the meat?
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After harvesting and field dressing your deer, it’s important to store it in the right environment to ensure you get the best-tasting meat. Some people choose to quarter and freeze the deer right away, but this can lead to tough meat due to muscle stiffening during rigor mortis.
Rigor mortis is a natural process that quickly sets in after harvest. This occurs because the proteins in the muscles can no longer perform their function without oxygen. The process begins a couple of hours after death and is complete within 24 hours, allowing the muscles (meat) to relax again. To start the aging process, it’s important to cool down the deer before butchering.
So, how long should you age your deer? Well, every hunter seems to have their own opinion on how long they should do so. Certainly, delicious venison is processed each year from both ends of the aging continuum, but the aging sweet spot is between four and 10 days. Generally, the longer the aging, the more you’ll improve the quality and tenderness of the meat.
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Dave Robinson of Maryland may have solved all our difficulties with aging venison, no matter where you live. He took an old, side-by-side refrigerator, removed all the shelves and added some stainless steel, J-shaped hooks on the top and sides. With strategically located hooks, he can easily hang and age two deer at the same time. To avoid toughness, I regularly hang deer for 5-7 days before processing. As a rule, the older the deer, the longer it should hang. Longer hanging times allow the animal’s natural enzymes and acids to break down tough connective tissues and tenderize the meat, resulting in a smoother, less gamey flavor.
Although you can let a deer hang in controlled temperatures for much longer periods of time, anything over 10 days can start to turn the meat a gray color. At this point, you’ll have to trim away about a quarter-inch around the surface of the meat. The good news is that the meat below is excellent and well worth the effort.
The optimal temperature range for hanging deer meat is 36-40 degrees Fahrenheit. Environments between 32 and 36 degrees also age the meat but at a slower rate. These temperatures mean you can age your deer for longer periods of time. If your deer is hanging in temperatures below freezing, it is not aging. Rather, it is frozen and will need to be thawed before butchering. Therefore, strive to hang your deer where it is cold but not freezing.
Many people let their deer hang in their garage. These conditions aren’t ideal because of contaminants, pests and temperature fluctuations that come with an uncontrolled environment. It’s important to note that if your meat is stored above 40 degrees, it will start to rot, because it allows bacteria to grow. And, at any temperature below 32 degrees, the meat will freeze and completely stop the aging process.
When aging venison, keeping your deer at a constant temperature and free of outside contamination is the number-one consideration. This is why using a refrigerator is best. Many hunters place their venison in plastic bags to maintain moisture and prevent drying out in a refrigerator set at 36 degrees. An important point to remember is that it’s not a good idea to butcher and freeze a deer while it’s in a state of stiffness, as the contracted muscle tissue will remain tough.
So, why is aging beneficial to the texture and taste of your evening meal? After rigor mortis ends, enzymes begin to break down the proteins present in the venison. The most important breakdown is the collagen connective tissue proteins between the meat fibers. This is the natural process that tenderizes the meat.
Aging deer is completely different than rotting. This is because the cool temperatures used in proper aging do not allow bacteria to begin the deterioration process.
With many bowhunters specifically targeting mature deer nowadays, you should realize that older deer will require more aging than younger deer. This is because younger deer haven’t accumulated as much collagen in their muscle layers and will require less aging time.
If you have venison you’re going to grind for brats, sausage, jerky or other processed venison products, aging time is not a factor. While aging is fine for the meat intended for these purposes, the grinding process will take care of the tenderizing. However, if you’re cutting out delectable backstraps, loins and prime cuts from back hams for steaks and roasts, age them in a refrigerator or cooler for a few days before making the final cuts and freezing.
If you hunt in the early season when it’s too warm to hang and age a deer without a refrigerator, coolers make great options. In a good cooler, ice keeps venison at an almost ideal temperature for aging.
It’s also important to keep the meat dry. If you are using a cooler, drain out the water daily, and add ice as needed. If you let the meat soak in ice water, the juices that make venison taste great will seep out. Instead, place the meat in plastic bags. Or, at least, place plastic over the ice at the bottom of the cooler so that meat and water can’t come in contact with each other.
Another tip is to rearrange and flip the meat daily so that a different part of the meat is in contact with the cold surface of the ice. This will help the meat age at the same rate. It’s also a good idea to use a thermometer to ensure correct meat temperatures are maintained. Cooler aging will also work in freezing weather to keep the extreme cold away from the meat, allowing it to age instead of freeze.
C.J.’s Summary If you always take your deer to a butcher, note that not all butcher shops have the time or space to properly age your deer. To ensure the palatability of your venison, you can skin, quarter and age your deer prior to dropping it off at the butcher. If you want to optimize the tenderness and flavor of your meat, aging your venison is critical.
If you are going to grind up the meat or make processed products, you can butcher your deer without aging, but make sure the carcass is cool and rigor mortis has ended.