# hanging a deer?



## M.cook (Jul 12, 2008)

since the weather is about right i want to hang my deer for about a week to try to age the meat a bit before butching. i have always just skinned my deer and taken them to the butcher right away. if i am going to hang him in my garage should i leave the hide on or take it off? 

the temp in the garage is about 4 degrees durring the day and likely a little lower at night


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## Pierre Couture (Oct 28, 2004)

Leaving the skin on will not change much to the aging of your deer. Besides, if you can skin it at the butcher's place, that will make it easier to keep the meat clean.


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## M.cook (Jul 12, 2008)

my concern was that if i take the hide off, the meat would be more open to spoiling. ?????


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## Pierre Couture (Oct 28, 2004)

If it stays around 2° C, there is no danger. If it gets around 10°C, that's another business. You should be ok.


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## M.cook (Jul 12, 2008)

Pierre Couture said:


> If it stays around 2° C, there is no danger. If it gets around 10°C, that's another business. You should be ok.




thanks for the help


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## n.s.bowhunter (Nov 19, 2009)

Why not hang it in the butcher's fridge. This temperature is stable. Ask him to let it hang for a week before he cuts it up.


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## M.cook (Jul 12, 2008)

n.s.bowhunter said:


> Why not hang it in the butcher's fridge. This temperature is stable. Ask him to let it hang for a week before he cuts it up.


the one i usually use is too busy to leave it hang for any length of time. i plan i doing this one myself along with a friend who knows how do get the proper cuts


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## BEARCOUNTRY (Aug 23, 2003)

Take the skin off, let it hang over night or up to 24 hrs (soon as the blood is done dripping out of it), and cut it up boneless, it will be the best deer meat you ever eat.

I have done that for years and it's great.

Wade


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## russ (Jul 29, 2002)

I've taken to boning the meat out after 1 day and putting it in our spare fridge to age. Works very well.


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## allegiancehntr (Dec 7, 2009)

skinning the deer isnt going to be fun after it hangs for a week


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## jindydiver (Jan 13, 2006)

I butcher all my deer at home (between 15 and 30 every year). I leave the skin on if it is going to hang for any longer than a couple of days. The meat dries out a bit if there isn't fat or skin over it.
I don't hang for flavor either, these are deer not cows, I just hang till the meat is set and I have the time to cut them up. The wildlife unit of the U of Wesern Sydney did a study years ago on deer and the benifits of aging and hanging and it was found that people could not tell the difference in taste between deer hung for 2 days and those hung for over a week. They did notice a difference in softness from a method of hanging called "tender hang" or "short hang". This is where you hang the animal by the pelvis instead of the hock so that the back legs take on a more natural shape while setting. It consistantly made a difference of one tenderness score on a scale of 5.


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## M.cook (Jul 12, 2008)

jindydiver said:


> I butcher all my deer at home (between 15 and 30 every year). I leave the skin on if it is going to hang for any longer than a couple of days. The meat dries out a bit if there isn't fat or skin over it.
> I don't hang for flavor either, these are deer not cows, I just hang till the meat is set and I have the time to cut them up. The wildlife unit of the U of Wesern Sydney did a study years ago on deer and the benifits of aging and hanging and it was found that people could not tell the difference in taste between deer hung for 2 days and those hung for over a week. They did notice a difference in softness from a method of hanging called "tender hang" or "short hang". This is where you hang the animal by the pelvis instead of the hock so that the back legs take on a more natural shape while setting. It consistantly made a difference of one tenderness score on a scale of 5.




very good info. thanks


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## sagitarius (Sep 11, 2007)

jindydiver said:


> I butcher all my deer at home (between 15 and 30 every year). I leave the skin on if it is going to hang for any longer than a couple of days. The meat dries out a bit if there isn't fat or skin over it.
> I don't hang for flavor either, these are deer not cows, I just hang till the meat is set and I have the time to cut them up. The wildlife unit of the U of Wesern Sydney did a study years ago on deer and the benifits of aging and hanging and it was found that people could not tell the difference in taste between deer hung for 2 days and those hung for over a week. They did notice a difference in softness from a method of hanging called "tender hang" or "short hang". This is where you hang the animal by the pelvis instead of the hock so that the back legs take on a more natural shape while setting. It consistantly made a difference of one tenderness score on a scale of 5.



Whatever. I notice a difference in the taste and tenderness when I have aged my deer. The difference could be that a week is not long enough to make a huge difference. Try 2 weeks with the right conditions and you'll notice a difference.

As for the original question. I would peel the skin off right away. I don't believe that there is any benefit to leaving it on and the longer you leave it the harder it is to take off


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## M.cook (Jul 12, 2008)

*results*

in case anyone had the same question as me, I will let you know my results. i had the deer hanging in my garage and the temp was steady around 0-4 the entire week. I left the skin on most of the deer. the parts that were exposed, meaning no skin on it, were dried out by the end of the week and not suitable for eating. the skin kept the meat from drying. it was a #$%^& to skin after sitting for a week to say the least. I was talking to a butcher who said that they can hang deer with no skin as their coolers have a special humidity control that keeps the meat from drying out. 

i wont be doing this again for my next deer. too much hassle considering the cost of getting it butchered. if i do it myself next time i will do it right after the deer is shot.


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## jindydiver (Jan 13, 2006)

A tip to make that skinning easier...

Before you hang it skin the hocks to past the start of the tendon. It is pretty hard when cold to get the skin over that lump when it is a week cold. Cut away the skin around the belly, you end up with skin only along the fillets and then just leave a couple of inches of the flaps past the ribs so you have something to grab to get the ribs started.
On really big deer with thick skin I have used a gut hook to run a couple of cuts down the deer from one end to the other. Then when you pull the skin down you are doing it in strips and it is a bit easier.


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