what problem are you thinking of?

the only thing is that meat is warm and a bit harder to handle but you can bone out and cool before cutting further.

i desire to get mine in the freezer ASAP.

 

People tell me they need to hang for at least one day. But I don't have a cooler to put it in and at 70 deg I'm not hanging anything for a day.

 

I don't butcher my own deer but my oldschool father thinks they have to hang and bleed out for a bit before butchering,,,, rigth after check-in I'm hunting for a butcher where I can drop it off,,,, have to really because I'm in a condo

 

It's just sloppy. By that I mean, it has no "chill" to it. The "chill" help firm up your meat (hee hee). It is easier to cut chilled, but you are not hurting the meat OR possibly putting anyone in potential harm as far as I know.
That being said.....if I HAD to do the butchering WARM, I would MAKE IT QUICK and get the meat chilled A.S.A.P., bacteria grows well in warm meat, so the more you expose the more you open yourself up to problems.
Like "22lyons" said....if it helps - just quarter it down - get it chilled from there - it's smaller now and easier to handle - get it into coolers or whatever - ice it down - then bone it out later....that way you won't have so much of it exposed AND warm.

 

You don't have too many choices here.
you can let them hang if the temp. is just above freezing 35-40 if you have a cool dry place .young deer 2-3 days old bucks 4-5 days BUT THE TEMP HAS TO BE RIGHT!
or YOU CAN TAKE IT TO SOMEONE WHO HAS A COOLER.
some will skin it out and hang them for you or do the butchering job also.
but never hang one if it's hot out!
skin it out then cut it up and get it in the freezer asap.

 

I will butcher mine the same day if it is too warm to waite, never have had a problem.



Matt

 

I have never hung my deer. I always have mine boned out and on ice asap. But I dont usually have good luck with my steaks so I grind it all into hamburger, maybe that is why. But no way would I hang a deer in az.

 

Thanks guys. I hope to shoot a doe tomorrow and with the warm weather i'm going to cut her up when I get back home...

 

if im buy myself i just de-bone them on the ground but have seen guys in warm weather hang them with the skin on and pack the chest full of ice bags to chill.

 

I have seen a lot of people do this and always wondered why.

Most of the edible meat is in the hams - ice in the chest cavity wont help here.

The shoulders and back strap are on the other side of the ribs and don't know if they will cool out.

With the hair on I would think that will keep the meat quite warm..

In FL we deal with heat and meat all the time.

Best thing is to get the hide off ASAP, cut the hams,shoulders and back strap off and put in a cooler full of ice.

For me cutting the meat up after being iced down for a day works much better than when it is warm.

 

In warm weather I'll debone them first chance I get. In the cold I may han them for a day or few depending on the weather.

 

Me Too, if cold I do same in the garage. I do chill the meat some before grinding though.

 

I also butcher all of my own meat, if its warm i will debone and freeze asap, it the cold i will let them hang with the hide off for a day or two. :darkbeer:

 

I always skin my deer ASAP. Never mind the temp. I will skin and quarter. If it is warm out I have a fridge in the garage that is just large enough to put all the quarters in. I remove the tenderloin first and get it chilled while I'm quartering that way I can get it cut up and wrapped. I'll usually let the quarters in the fridge over night and debone it the next day. Always get the hide off quickly, I really believe that is crucial regardless of the temps. We do have a lot of people around here that prefer to let them hang for a while my dad included but I don't buy into that. I want my in the freezer as soon as possible.

 

I always skin my deer ASAP. Never mind the temp. I will skin and quarter. If it is warm out I have a fridge in the garage that is just large enough to put all the quarters in. I remove the tenderloin first and get it chilled while I'm quartering that way I can get it cut up and wrapped. I'll usually let the quarters in the fridge over night and debone it the next day. Always get the hide off quickly, I really believe that is crucial regardless of the temps. We do have a lot of people around here that prefer to let them hang for a while my dad included but I don't buy into that. I want my in the freezer as soon as possible.[/QUOTE

+1... Loins in the fridge, and the rest out of the cooler/fridge as I can get to it the next day or so for deboning and wrapping.

 

I always cut mine the same day if not the cut it into small chunks to put in a fridge then take it to a guy and he grinds it up for me. I feel that the indians never had coolers so what is the big deal. My father-in-law always says that it needs to be hung for 6-8 days in a 30ish temp, so the enzyems (spelling) can tenderize the meat. My grandfather was a butcher and he always told me that beef need to be hung but not so much wild game. Some of the videos I see a deer in the back of the truck not even feild dressed just makes me stick to my stomach. Get the guts out asap and then the hide and then cut and cool if to late to grind up and have some back straps fresh that night.

 

I skin and quarter as soon as possible, then put the quarters in a fridge in the garage for about a week. The quarters go on racks and I have a tray to collect blood under each rack. A LOT of blood runs off during that time, which just makes the meat a little more palatable for my wife to deal with at cooking time. After a week or so I cut it up the way I want it.

 

The deer meat really does taste better (in my opinon), if you let it age. A buck, especially! If it is too warm to let it hang, I will debone it and put the meat in a cooler with frozen jugs to keep it cold. Have enough jugs you can switch out when you need to to keep the temp in the cooler at a decent level. Low 40's for me. This is an option if you don't have an extra fridge to put the meat in. I like to let it age 5-7 days minimum.

 

As soon as I get the deer in and skinned I quarter deer up and pack in ice chest. Usually leave in there for a couple of days,changing with fresh ice 2 to 3 times a day. This pulls most of the blood out of the meat plus easier to work with when butchering.

 

I do about the same. I quarter my deer and pack in an ice chest for about 4 or 5 days draining and changing ice. I never cut up a deer that has just been killed. The meat is too soft to make good cuts. I will always chill it for several hours, if I don't wait the 4 or 5 days whick I prefer to do.

 

This question will generate a multitude of responses. It is my conviction that all red meat should hang in a cooler to cure. I don't have a cooler either, but I take it to the local meat locker to cure. 6 days is an excellent cure time. Meat that hasn't been cured won't be as tender as cured meat, and uncured meat tends to cause gas or even a loose stool to those who eat it. Even the flavor isn't as good. If you don't care about reducing the quality of the meat you harvest, than so be it. You're the ones who have to eat it, not me.

 

You can cut them up all you want, it's easier even! Just don't freeze the meat before a minimum of 36 hours. That's how long it takes for the rigor mortis effect to leave muscle tissue. I use the cooler method, too. :wink: -7-

 

Unless you have a cooler to hang the deer in..you have no choice unless you plan on wasting the meat??

Yeah..the warm weather sucks...as soon as you get one..

tag it..

gut it...

drag it out...

check it in..

drive home...

hang it up...

skin the hide...

quarter it out...

cut out the backstraps...


all of the above in less than 2 hours!!


man I'm tired just typing that!~

 

Don't forget the tenderloins along the inside of the backbone....small but mmmm yummy.

 

For all of you saying "I don't have a meat locker to hang a deer in":
A quartered deer easily fits in a normal refrigerator, which you can buy used cheap. If you put the word out to everyone you know, you may get one given to you. With that in your favor, you don't have to stress out about getting it cut up, you can do it in your own time schedule.

 

In case you missed it, here is my thread on an easy to make deer locker. All you need is two sheets of foam board and a small cheap window air conditioner:

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?p=7683320#post7683320

Eric

 

No they do not need to hang a day .They were killed by bloodloss thus no need to let them drain.Also cutting and cooling right away makes for the highest quality meat you can get .It will be moist tender an have no strong or harsh flavor due to bacterial growth. So please cut away imeidiatly.

 

yep this is a great answer

 

Chop it up straight away if you think the weather is too hot to let it hang, and just put the bits into a fridge for a couple of days.
This is a red deer yearling. The backstraps, shoulder and neck meat are all in the tray with tea towels under them to absorb the blood and the back end is resting on tea towels also.

The benefit of having it cold and "hanging" for a couple of days is to allow the meat to dry a little. Meat that is cut up and frozen straight away will leak A LOT of moisture when you de-frost it.

 

I'll hang a skinned deer for 10-14 days.

I don't have a walk in cooler anymore though.

Now I skin and quarter them and hang the quarters for 10 days or so.

It isn't necessary but it mellows the gaminess and is a lot more tender.

 

You can hang it for along time or not at all. But if you want meat that isnt gamey. U better cut out the nasty stuff. I will skin my deer than skin it again to get all white shiney stuff off all my meat. Even my sausage meat. I know alot of people that dont like gamey taste and wont eat deer. But when they eat my deer or elk the love it. So cut the crap out of it and you will have great meat.

My kids and wife love wild game. My wifes father gets on me for cuting so much out, but I say to him your not the 1 eating it. I only give my family the good stuff.

 

+1 If it is not red meat cut it off.
You can put two deer in a 120qt. ice cheast if cut the hindquaters and front sholders off and stack it rite.

 

i skin my deer asap in my garage, take the back straps, tenderloin, remove the front and rear legs, and cut anyother meat I can get. I wrap all in saran wrap and put in my beer refrigerator for about 3 days, then the processing begins. The meat always tastes great.

 

nomally what ill do in warm weather is quarter it the same day then put in garbage bags and put in refrigator for a couple of days