After watching the last episode of BHOD Season 6, there was a fan question related to keeping meat from a Deer harvest, after it has been claimed by Coyoties. I would like to expand on this topic, with respect to one of my most commonly asked questions, or beliefs of fellow Deer Hunters. Again, everyone has their own belief, and or advice from their personal Butcher. So, please understand that this is meant just as an FYI. I am not trying to tell anyone their right, or wrong in their past practices. After your Deer kill, is it ABSOLUTELY NECCESSARY, to let your Deer hang for a day or longer before butchering the Deer? Well, I have a life long friend, who has been a Butcher by trade, for over 30 years and here is his answer. As far as the safety of the meat, there is no reason to let the Deer hang for any predetermained amount of time. According to the Butcher, a split hoofed animal does not need to hang, but to make your Butcher happy, he states it makes the job and clean up a much better exsperience for the person doing the task. Animals that are not split hoofed, they need to hang for at least a day. His recommendation is this: Temps over 40, but under 50, open the chest cavity with a clean stick and fully pack with ice bags. Temps over 50, it's best and in my opinion, we owe it to the Deer not to waste any meat, so find some place with a refrigerator to keep the meat cool if you need a few days before butchering. I Hope this helps fellow hunters who fight the warm temps as we have been plagued with year after year, here in Michigan.
Bleeding and hanging are two different things right? One can help facilitate the other I agree but each is done for slightly different reasons. Some believe that if you let meat "age" properly bacteria will begin breaking the meat down and tenderize it. Now along the lines of bleeding some believe that if you remove as much blood as possible from the meat it will remove the gamey taste. For example soaking the meat in a brine of water, salt and white vinegar to remove the blood makes it taste better. Like you said its all a matter of opinion though I guess. Thanks for sharing.
I've never "bled" a deer in terms of draining the blood from the animal with the sole purpose of draining blood. My dad has hunted for the better part of 60 years and don't think he has ever done this since he never taught me to do this. We do "hang" our deer in a walk in cooler for approximately 6-8 days before butchering. The deer are fully skinned, cleaned and hung up. I would say hanging the deer while skinning probably removes most of the blood from the veins but, never considered this a separate step in processing a deer since it just sorta happens while skinning. See where the confusion could be with terminology?
To each their own, obviously from the threads I've read about this subject over the years and the people who have taught me and who I"ve discussed it with...the only actually "wrong way" to do it is to hang it in hot weather until it's rotten and maggot infested. Heard and seen people handle their game nearly every way imaginable and each swears by "their method"...as long as it works for you is all that it really matters.
I like my venison burger with bacon. Every deer that I have shot has run/walked till it ran out of blood in it's system, so what/why do you need to do more than that?
I would agree with what everyone has stated. For some reason, here in Michigan, I can't tell you the number of people who ask if they need to let the deer hang for a day or two, to let them finish bleeding out? Once Michigan's gun season gets rolling, my friends business gets pretty busy with fellow hunters wanting their Deer butchered, so I do what I can to try and help him out and help get everyone's deer back to them quicker. Without fail, every year, our number once question is, " how will you get my deer back to me by tomorrow night? Don't you have to let it hang for a day to bleed out?" Myself, as soon as I get the deer back to our pole barn, I start to butcher it right away and don't stop until it's finished. I do this to avoide the warm temps we always have, even in to November most of the time. CoveyMaster, I can't tell you how many deer we get where the nose, ears, eyes and chest cavity are completely covered in fly eggs and maggots. I have a another great topic of debat I will start in another thread. I am so glad my friend doesn't have to deal with this one.
I will post the new question in another area. I only posted this thread here, because it was indirectly related to me watching this elisode of BHOD.
We don't do anything special. Shoot it, track it. Field dress it and hang it. I would estimate less than 1/2 cup of blood comes from the deer once we have it hung. and even when it is warmer and we 1/4 them up right away, there is very little blood left in it.
I've heard stories...some would make a maggot salivate and others that would puke a maggot off a gut wagon. I think it's kind of gross to "age" a deer at all without it being in an extremely controlled environment and the person doing it knowing what they are doing, otherwise it's kind of a dangerous deal of just eating old meat. I'm used to my venison being fresh and tasting a certain way so when someone gives me "aged" venison it just tastes rotten to my taster. Also if it's butchered like a beef and bone is sawn through, it's ruined.
I can't speak for other Butchers, but I know my buddy doesn't even offer "bone in meat". Everything he processes is deboned. As far as aging, I know many, many hunters who let their kill hang, or so called age, but again, it's at temps of below 40 degrees. Myself, my deer is processed within hours of the kill. I'm lucky enough to have the room and tools to do this. I can remember doing it all with knives and know that I have saws, etc... I would never go back. Did you read the other thread I posted related to Venison Sausage and getting someone else's meat used to make it? Now that sacred me!
the only thing that keeps me from processing a deer within hours is the alcohol that comes with the celebration. wouldn't worry about being mixed with another deer. would worry about it getting mixed with my blood and possibly fingers.
I do all of my own processing from start to finish. I will hand my deer for one day after skinning. After that is done I quarter them and put the quarters in a refrigerator for about 3 days. Hanging them for a day seems to allow the tendons to relax a bit more so quartering is easier. The 3 days in the fridge does allows some but not all of the blood to drain. That being said since I have started doing it this way I have never "cut" my ground with any other meat for processing. I am sure there are a few guys on here than can agree that the stuff I make is pretty dam good. As for my back straps and loins I make my cut and immediately wrap and freeze what ever we are not using right away. I let one set drain once and it made them a lot more on the tough side once they were grilled.
