SpurHunter
Well-known member
I have heard so many crazy methods, times, etc, I did some research and found some really good sound advice.
"Is their any benefit to aging venison?":
The only cuts that will benefit from aging are cuts of venison that will be cooked as whole muscle and over high heat. That would be your tenderloins and backstraps.
If you intend to grind it, aging makes absolutely no difference.
If you intend to slow cook, braise, crock pot or use for jerky, aging will make absolutely no difference.
Meat sitting in ice water is not "aging" and, for the most part, sitting in or directly on ice, is not "aging", rather it is being stored.
Many myths and misconceptions about "aging" venison. If you do not have ideal conditions including temperature, airflow, and humidity, the aging process is slowed down to the point that you would have to age it for far beyond 30 days to make a real difference. While I do place my backstraps and tenderloins in my curing chamber on a cooing rack for a few days, meat that will be ground hits the grinder immediately. Roasts, stew meats and/or entire quarters get trimmed and frozen as soon as it is convenient, generally within 2-4 days. Walk in coolers are very convenient for storage, but there is very little actual aging going on in home coolers -most people just do not have the controlled conditions.
“Is aging deer meat safe?”:
That would depend on the conditions. Keep it under 50 degrees and out of the direct sun and you should be good for a while. Humidity levels are a factor. If you had to hang it for longer than you wanted to, you could always sprinkle a little salt on the meat to help with bacterial control. I'd try to get the butchering done within 4 days, if possible, but you could safely go out to 10 with reasonable conditions and likely longer. This assumes that flies aren't planting larva in the meat, you do not have spilled gut contents or pooled blood in the carcass.
On a positive note, you seldom, if ever, hear of people getting sick from venison and people do all kinds of crazy rituals with the meat that go against every rule in the book, so there's at least there's that
"Is their any benefit to aging venison?":
The only cuts that will benefit from aging are cuts of venison that will be cooked as whole muscle and over high heat. That would be your tenderloins and backstraps.
If you intend to grind it, aging makes absolutely no difference.
If you intend to slow cook, braise, crock pot or use for jerky, aging will make absolutely no difference.
Meat sitting in ice water is not "aging" and, for the most part, sitting in or directly on ice, is not "aging", rather it is being stored.
Many myths and misconceptions about "aging" venison. If you do not have ideal conditions including temperature, airflow, and humidity, the aging process is slowed down to the point that you would have to age it for far beyond 30 days to make a real difference. While I do place my backstraps and tenderloins in my curing chamber on a cooing rack for a few days, meat that will be ground hits the grinder immediately. Roasts, stew meats and/or entire quarters get trimmed and frozen as soon as it is convenient, generally within 2-4 days. Walk in coolers are very convenient for storage, but there is very little actual aging going on in home coolers -most people just do not have the controlled conditions.
“Is aging deer meat safe?”:
That would depend on the conditions. Keep it under 50 degrees and out of the direct sun and you should be good for a while. Humidity levels are a factor. If you had to hang it for longer than you wanted to, you could always sprinkle a little salt on the meat to help with bacterial control. I'd try to get the butchering done within 4 days, if possible, but you could safely go out to 10 with reasonable conditions and likely longer. This assumes that flies aren't planting larva in the meat, you do not have spilled gut contents or pooled blood in the carcass.
On a positive note, you seldom, if ever, hear of people getting sick from venison and people do all kinds of crazy rituals with the meat that go against every rule in the book, so there's at least there's that
