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How long and where do you hang your deer / game


Mungler
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As it says on the tin.

 

I have recently spilt a little petrol in my shed whilst making up a mix for the chainsaw; I am now struggling for a plan B game larder (that is unless I want to eat game which tastes of petrol).

 

Also, how long do peeps hang their deer for including prevailing temperatures etc.

 

Cheers all.

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in the cold store for about two month's as i enjoy a well hung dear

 

 

:good::good:

 

Sorry mung :yp: i have left mine hanging in the van for a couple of days until i could butcher it and get it in the freezer :good:

 

Was jan though

Edited by magman
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Oh honestly mung, learn to post in the right section... :good:

 

However, I usually hang deer for 4-5 days in this weather, frosty mornings and warm (12-15*c) days and up to 10 days in normal winter weather.

Game 2-3 days in the former and 7 days in the latter.

 

Happy eating !

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Mungler ,

Its all about taste . If you like your venison to taste like rotten mushrooms then hang it for a couple of weeks . All meat needs to be hung for at least 3 days to allow all the gases to evaporate and to tenderise . I dont like my venison hung for more than 4 days and will then call it fresh and freeze or eat straight away . When I say hung I mean in an un chilled garage . Of course ambiant temprature counts . Generally meat will be ok if hung in an unchilled outhouse for four days .

Harnser .

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dont shoot deer so cant comment, but i dont hang any of my game; i gut+pluck/skin as soon as i get home, rabbits get soaked overnight in salt water in the fridge, anything else (pigeon breast, etc) gets left overnight in a tupaware box in fridge to let the blood drain then either used or frozen :good:

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i dont hang game.

 

I know you are meant to.but i really dont like what it does to the taste.

 

As its me that eats it,i dont care if people say this is wrong.

 

Thats how i like it.

 

Sometimes it may take 1 or 2 days to get plucked and dressed ,but thats about it.

 

cheers and sorry about the spelling.

 

scott

Edited by mr salt
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Got this from ''else where'', dont know if it will be of any use :blush:

 

''The real purpose of hanging game is to enable the fibres of the flesh to break down and decompose so that the meat will be more tender. It is very difficult to give exact times as it depends entirely on personal taste. Some prefer slightly tougher meat with a fresh taste, while others enjoy very tender meat with a decidedly 'high' smell and flavour. These times therefore are only very approximate, and are for average seasonable temperatures. If the weather is hotter than average, hang for the shortest length of time given, and if colder than usual, for the longest. The older the game, the longer it must hang. Birds are ready for cooking when the tail, inside leg, or breast feathers can be plucked out easily. Game birds are always hung by the neck (although some say you should hang a pheasant by its feet, until the body drops!). Overhung flesh will have blueish patches on it. Game should always be hung in a shaded place in a current of air, well out of the reach of cats, dogs or foxes.

 

 

Partridge: 5-12 days

 

Pheasant: 3 days to 2 weeks

 

Grouse: 3-10 days

 

Blackcock: 3-4 days

 

Ptarmigan: 3-4 days

 

Capercaillie: Bury it in the ground for a few days, or hang it until it is really tender.

 

Pigeon: 2-3 days

 

Quail: Can be eaten straight away, or hung for up to 2 days

 

Woodcock

And Snipe: Can be eaten straight away, or kept for up to 6 days, but remember that woodcock and snipe are often cooked with the entrails left in them, so They shouldn't be left too long.

 

Wild Duck

(Mallard, Teal,

Widgeon, etc): can be eaten straight away, or hung up to 2 days. If left any longer the flesh is liable to turn rank.

 

Wild Goose: 1-2 days

 

Hare: About 1 week without paunching, a little longer in cold weather. Suspend it by the hind feet with a bucket under the nose to catch the blood, which makes good gravy.

 

Rabbit: Eat straight away, with no hanging.

 

Venison: 3 days to 2 weeks. There is a great deal of difference between these times, but apart from taste, it depends on many factors. A young roe deer in perfect condition will only need about 3 days, while a tough old fallow or red deer could need a good 2 weeks to make it tender.

 

For the average taste, test the hung meat every day by running a skewer into the haunch.So long as the skewer has no unpleasant smell when withdrawn the meat is in good condition, but if it does get rather too "high", wash it in warm water and dry it well before cooking.

If there is no fly-free larder available, rub the carcase with a mixture of flour, powdered ginger, and pepper. The furrow of the backbone should be well dressed with pepper. Wrap the carcase in muslin before hanging in the larder, but inspect it every day and give it a fresh coating of flour and ginger when necessary. Wipe with a cloth to remove any moisture which may have formed.

 

Me personally, Id have it plucked/skinned, breasted or whatever, and in the freezer :good:

Edited by chrispti
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  • 2 weeks later...

my dad simply, butchers any meat , places it in a dustbin, flushes it though with cold water running from a hose pipe all day, until the water is crystal clean,then freezes it immediatley after draining the meat,for as hour .

when it comes from the freezer, defrost for a couple of days some where cool, or on a plate in the fridge, & its perfect, either goose or large deer, & thetaste is gorgous. but mums a good cook. :lol:

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Mung............little tip.

 

Have a shout around shop fitting companies.....................for old coke type fridges that get ripped out of takeaways and the such like.

 

more often than not they have to get shut of them, if you have a deacent company then you should be able to "pick one up" with a bit of a back hander.....

 

Its more often a ball ache for the company to get rid of them..and if you are in the right place then a quick call and off you go in your van..

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Mung............little tip.

 

Have a shout around shop fitting companies.....................for old coke type fridges that get ripped out of takeaways and the such like.

 

more often than not they have to get shut of them, if you have a deacent company then you should be able to "pick one up" with a bit of a back hander.....

 

Its more often a ball ache for the company to get rid of them..and if you are in the right place then a quick call and off you go in your van..

 

 

I concur my learned friend, and with a little jiggery pokery with some steel, can easily hang a couple fo roe in there. The "book" says that meat should not be allowed to rise in temperature back above 4 degress having once been taken below that temp If you are eating it yourself, that is a matter for you

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Unless the seasons revert back to the way they used to be in the olden days :yes: i would ignore what you read in the books about the length of time to hang game.

It used to freeze for weeks from late October till late February or at the least get down to the low figures 5 or less. But not these days.

If it gets down to say about 5 degrees then 4-5 days would be acceptable, higher temp then just a couple of days,

 

as allready stated as the meat hangs, bacteria starts breaking down the fibres in the meat (the rotting process) so tenerizing the meat this happens quicker the higher the temp, but does so quicker from the outside in, but by keeping the tempereture low it gives it chance to do it more evenly throughout the carcuss.

 

We used to hang 1/4s of beef for up to 4 weeks for special orders. You need good fans in the fridge though to keep the air circulating and temps down to about 4 degrees :huh:

 

Mung if you need a hand butchering, i suggest you take a video of the chaps in Coatia :good:

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If you are stuck you can get one of those free standing zip up wardrobe things and hang the deer in there.

You get air circulation by cutting a hole top and bottom and fitting some bits of net curtains over the hole to stop the flies.

Place a bowl or something under it to act as a drip tray.

 

So long as the deer is cooled within a few hours and kept below 9 degress C you should be ok for a week or more.

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I had an old converted pepsi chiller that was not really big enough. Fortunately i have had the good fortune to buy a commercial food chiller, for very little money, that will take a carcass down to 4 degrees in very little time. I normally hang roe/muntjac for 5 days and fallow a little longer, 8 to 10 days.

 

It makes butchering a much less messy business. It also means that I can be lazy and not do the full carcass preperation if I am shooting late at night. I just gralloch out the green, take off the bottom part of the legs, hang it in the chiller, turn it on and deal with the rest the next day. Just plain idle I know :yes:

 

ft

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