hanging elk

[wildcat111]

never been much of an elk hunter, but now that i have jumped on the band wagon just wondering how long you should let your elk hang for?thanks

[Lefty-Canuck]

If you are hanging them in a controlled temperature @ ~34 degrees F (ie. in a cooler) we hang them for at least 15 days, my Step Dad is a butcher and we have the means to do it.

LC

[Gordoats26]

You dont need to hang wild game very long like you do with beef meats so lean 3 days to a week is lots

[flyguyd]

We generally hang the hinds a week . The fronts get cut up the next day , no sense lettin the burger dry out

[ram crazy]

We hung my Elk for 2 days in a cooler before it was cut up, wrapped, and in the freezer.

[Hairball]

My question is why do you hang meat? Some have told me the reasons are to let the meat stretch? To let the meat die? And to let the fat break down? So what is the correct reason to let meat hang for a few days or a week.

[Don K]

Originally Posted by Gordoats26

You dont need to hang wild game very long like you do with beef meats so lean 3 days to a week is lots

X2

Hanging helps the meat age and tenderize. Theconnective tissue starts to break down

[Lefty-Canuck]

IMHO for hanging the "key" is controlled environment. You don't want the meat to go through several freeze thaw cycles, or heat and cool cycles. As someone mentioned the "why hang" has different opinions. For us we see it as a way to age and tenderize the meat.

Also if you hang it in open air (ie. in a garage) things will dry out fairly quickly (like someone mentioned). You can help slow the drying process by wiping the animal down with some clean warm water to get hairs and dirt off and then wrap it in old cotton sheets as a shroud. It seems minor but it will limit the drying out.

Because we have the luxury of a cooler depending on the age of the animal and size depends on the length we hang it.

A deer gets a week, young moose or elk 7-10 days, an older animal gets 15 days.

LC

[livinthedream]

It just amazes me when I hear how everyone treats their game differently. You begin to understand why same families refuse to eat "dad's" venison. It starts with the mighty white hunter chasing the animal across a stubble field with the ol' truck while discharging 1/2 doz rounds, some bullets connecting, some not. Getting home and throwing the carcass on the floor of the garage. The only aging it gets is however long it takes to get the old band saw fired up. First chance they get, run the carcass, bones and all, covered with blood and hair through the saw. Wrap the "steaks" in freezer paper and then they wonder why they can't give the stuff away! Come Sept. of the following year they empty the freezer, Rover gets some and the rest gets hauled to the land fill and then they start all over again. Please, everyone, treat your game with respect. Try and start with an ethical, one shot kill. Prompt field dressing, aging a bare minimum of 1 week, boning out the meat and trimming all fat and misc. tissue. Get a food processer, vacuum pack and label the cuts. Check out online videos and book stores for how to do all of this if you don't know how. Then sit back and enjoy watching your family and friends devour the fruit of your labours!

[greylynx]

LC and LivintheDream pretty well covered this issue.

[elkoholik]

Originally Posted by livinthedream

It just amazes me when I hear how everyone treats their game differently. You begin to understand why same families refuse to eat "dad's" venison. It starts with the mighty white hunter chasing the animal across a stubble field with the ol' truck while discharging 1/2 doz rounds, some bullets connecting, some not. Getting home and throwing the carcass on the floor of the garage. The only aging it gets is however long it takes to get the old band saw fired up. First chance they get, run the carcass, bones and all, covered with blood and hair through the saw. Wrap the "steaks" in freezer paper and then they wonder why they can't give the stuff away! Come Sept. of the following year they empty the freezer, Rover gets some and the rest gets hauled to the land fill and then they start all over again. Please, everyone, treat your game with respect. Try and start with an ethical, one shot kill. Prompt field dressing, aging a bare minimum of 1 week, boning out the meat and trimming all fat and misc. tissue. Get a food processer, vacuum pack and label the cuts. Check out online videos and book stores for how to do all of this if you don't know how. Then sit back and enjoy watching your family and friends devour the fruit of your labours!

X2, well put.

Myself being a meat cutter do the pretty much the same. Clean meat is key, age for 7-10 days for deer 10-14 days for elk/moose. Does not matter how lean the meat is, it is all about breaking down the tissue. Go back 15+ years ago and the dry aged(hanging) beef of the markets, excellent flavour and consistent tenderness, now with kill, chill and cut the markets are resorting to mechanical tenderizers to keep consistent tender meet. I know 1st hand how many people have come to my house and ate wild meet and come back for more. Take good care of your game and it will reward you when you eat it.

[greylynx]

Dry aging beef. I guess that has almost become extinct.

[igorot]

Originally Posted by livinthedream

It just amazes me when I hear how everyone treats their game differently. You begin to understand why same families refuse to eat "dad's" venison. It starts with the mighty white hunter chasing the animal across a stubble field with the ol' truck while discharging 1/2 doz rounds, some bullets connecting, some not. Getting home and throwing the carcass on the floor of the garage. The only aging it gets is however long it takes to get the old band saw fired up. First chance they get, run the carcass, bones and all, covered with blood and hair through the saw. Wrap the "steaks" in freezer paper and then they wonder why they can't give the stuff away! Come Sept. of the following year they empty the freezer, Rover gets some and the rest gets hauled to the land fill and then they start all over again. Please, everyone, treat your game with respect. Try and start with an ethical, one shot kill. Prompt field dressing, aging a bare minimum of 1 week, boning out the meat and trimming all fat and misc. tissue. Get a food processer, vacuum pack and label the cuts. Check out online videos and book stores for how to do all of this if you don't know how. Then sit back and enjoy watching your family and friends devour the fruit of your labours!

I was loading a whole deer, not gutted or skinned. A gent approach me and ask why I don't process my game. I told him that I don't waste anything even the guts, the hide and hooves. Everything is good as long as you know how to cook seriously

[billie]

Originally Posted by livinthedream

It just amazes me when I hear how everyone treats their game differently.

And how "X" days is perfect

Time and temperature are relative, along with the ideal controlled environment as LC mentioned, but few people have the facilities. Test the meat for proper breakdown and cut when ready.