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Aging Wild Meat?

3K views 35 replies 29 participants last post by  JoeMedic 
#1 ·
I was informed that it is a waste of time to age wild meat. The reason is that wild meat does not contain fat inside the meat unlike cattle. Since cattle has fat inside the meat, aging causes the fat to break down which marbalizes the meat, tenderizing it. Since wild game does not contain the fat, there is nothing to break down, no marbalizing or tenderizing. So why does everyone (that I know), including me, hang their meat for aging?
 
#2 ·
I to have heard this arguement and do not totally agree with it. Many of the deer I have shoot have obviuos marbling in the meat. another reason to hang the meat is to help the meat bleed out. if a carcass is not properly bled out then the meat will have a tendancy to be gritty. when this happens blood that should have been evacuated by hanging or soaking was not evacuated. therefore, when the meat was cooked the proteins on the blood basically curdled for lack of a better term and instead of having a piece of lean flavorful meat you have a chunk of gritty flesh.

the other thing to realize is that there is more to the aging process than fat. there are enzymes at work and they work on the meat as well as the fat. if they did not then after dry aging beef for 30days you would not have to shave off the green stuff on the outside.:wink:

Marc
 
#4 ·
In a publication put out by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, they indicate the same thing. Aging wild game is not necessary, and often risks spoilage of the meat.
 
#8 ·
Ageing meat doesn't have anything to do with the fat. It allows proteins to breakdown in the muscle tissue making the meat more tender. It also allows the breakdown of lactic acid in the tissue reducing the gamey flavor. Ageing meat with high fat content would be more likely to cause problems due to fat going rancid than ageing low fat game meat. I like to age mine for 5-7 days and I notice a difference in flavor and tenderness vs ones I can't age. If the animal was stressed during the hunt and had a large adrenaline rush ageing is a huge help as it breaks down that lactic acid that makes the meat taste so strong.
 
#16 ·
Here's the question? If it is not the fat that causes it, what causes the protien to breakdown? I'm not trying to start a heated debate. My buddy (who raises cattle) says that it is the fat that actually starts the enzymes to break down the protien. That's why beef is hung for so many days until processed. Otherwise, even if wild game was processed and placed into the freezer, it would continually break down and it does'nt because there is no fat. This is why there are different grades of beef.
 
#9 ·
I'll agree with beaverman, I never heard of the fat being the thing we are trying to age. I age my venison and beef after I have it in a vaccum sealed bag in the fridge. I hear that this is the safest way to "age" meat because it is sealed away from the air. I don't know if it is true but it works at our house.
 
#12 ·
My aging time

My ageing time involves the time it takes to get the game home, enough people to help me butcher (if you have ever shot a moose you would understand), and get it into freezer paper. Sometimes that wont happen for a week after i shoot it, sometimes it will happen a day after, I have never noticed any difference in taste or tenderness.


:darkbeer::darkbeer::darkbeer:
 
#13 ·
Keep it Clean & Get it Cool

My primary concerns are always to keep everything as clean as possible, and get it cool. I take extra precautions to avoid rupturing bowel, bladder, or stomach. Get it field dressed, rinse thoroughly, and hang to cool until I can get it to locker. If I'm concerned about temps I pack cavity with bags of ice.

I'm always shocked and disgusted at the condition I see some people's deer.

I guess this is a good reason to process your own meat to make sure you don't end up with somebody elses trouble, while they take home the meat you have meticulously prepped.

Until I'm able to handle this myself, I use a small locker where I at least have the best chance of getting my meat back.
 
#14 ·
i only hang a deer if it ran a long ways after the shot (& of course it has to be cold enough outside to let it hang in the garage), otherwise i butcher it & put it in my freezer asap. my elk gets aged a few days, but only because it takes me a few days to get it done....
i was always told to hang wild game, but necessity made me butcher a couple right away & honestly i couldn't tell any difference.
 
#15 ·
enzymes in the protein(muscle fiber)causes the process of aging in meat. The higher the temperature the faster the enzymes work. The best temperature is 45-50deg F.
 
#17 ·
Enzymes play a part in the breakdown but so does bacteria. The reason it doesn't continue to breakdown when frozen is that cold temp inhibits bacterial growth so the bacteria are dormant or dead once the meat is frozen. Fat content may play a role in beef grades as would the diet of that animal, how much it was exercised, etc but it has nothing to do with ageing. The quality of the meat would be defined before the ageing process starts. Ageing will only enhance the flavor and tenderness. The lipids in the fat may enhcnce bacterial growth that in turn may speed up the ageing process but the fat itself doesn't provide any benefit, its the protein breakdown that gives the desired flavor and tenderness. There are many ways to speed the ageing process temp is the easiest. Hang a side of beef or a deer in 50-60 degree temps and the meat will age/breakdown more in 1 day than 4-5 days at 40 degrees due to the rapid bacterial growth which is temp dependant.
 
#18 ·
Also wanted to mention if your buddy's theory was correct and it was fat and not bacteria then beef would breakdown in your freezer as would pork and they don't because bacterial growth is inhibited or stopped completely once the temp gets low enough. The enzymes that breakdown protein come from 2 places some of it is in the muscle tissue and some of it is a byproduct of the bacterial respiration which is why bacteria play a large role in ageing meat.
 
#22 ·
We have always let it sit 3-5 days. I tend to think its good to let the meat break down some.

My two

d
 
#29 ·
Aging Venison is a waste of time IMHO. Venison lacks the enzymes that is found in beef which make it more tender after aging. Aging beef=good, aging venison=waste of time.
 
#31 ·
I read that to get any real benefit it must be done at a proper humidity and temp. And the animal has to be hung head up for a couple days and then head down for a couple more to stretch the meat fibers.

It also said that handling the meat from carcass to oven is more important. proper wrapping, thawing, cooking etc.
 
#32 ·
I assume we're only talking about dry aging here (although I did hear one person mention putting the meat in a fridge in vaccum sealed packages - which is wet aging, another accepted practice that probably 95% of today's beef actually sees)

Just as aging does some beef more good than others (there are certain things to "look" for in selecting beef to dry age). I imagine the same could be said for deer. Besides the breakdown of muscle tissues, dry aging when done correctly (no hide, animal should be skinned) results in about 20% meat loss cause there's a dry crust that forms on the outside that must be trimmed away. The idea anyhow is that during the dry aging process, the juices are absorbed into the remaining meat, enhancing the flavor and tenderizing the steaks.
I would wager many people have never had "true" dry aged beef..very popular in the fine, white linen steakhouses on the coasts. It went out of popularity back in the 60's. It has a very different taste, what most people today would call "gamey". back then that was BEEF.
Here's a quote I found about the taste of dry aged beef
"They describe its flavor as rich and nutty, decadently tender, and "beefier" than nonaged. Its intensity requires a robust erudite palate."
 
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