First time cleaning my own deer

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Alright so 6 lbs worth of backstrip steaks, 1lb of the fish and a roast from a ham( gave the other to the wives grandparents, its their land anyway) heading to the freezer:
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, i have been thinking and i think I'm gonna redo my plan i had with the rest of the meat
Here's a hint:
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We try and let hang for about 3 days if weather permits. If close to freeze temps we leave hide on while hanging , A little warmer and we pull the coats off them. Have had to cut up immediately because of freezing temps, leave in totes in fridge or cold shop floor for couple days, wash meat , separate, and freeze.
That's the problem with early archery season, in the morning, a cool 48ish degrees, come lunch time 71... so unless you have a walk in, no hanging... which that might be a future project
 
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I usually hang the quarters on a home made hanger over a 150Q cooler with a 1/2 a dozen blocks of ice and cover it with a clean tarp and old sleeping bags, I leave just enough openings to allow for air flow....I put two fridge temp gauges on either side of the meat....at 75 to 80 out side air it keeps things 38-39 degree....after 10 days I cut and freeze. I do trim all fat and silver skin.

If I don't hang I jut trim and freeze, but it usually always a day or two to get back to the house to process.

I wrap in plastic and double wrap in wax freezer paper.

For deer burger, I add 25% beef fat to the grind, it keeps it together and makes it tasty!

PS, nice buck!
 
Never thought about it earlier... but I hope ya saved the heart!

Ryan
Yep. I put the hearts in grind meat and sausage....

I usually hang the quarters on a home made hanger over a 150Q cooler with a 1/2 a dozen blocks of ice and cover it with a clean tarp and old sleeping bags, I leave just enough openings to allow for air flow....I put two fridge temp gauges on either side of the meat....at 75 to 80 out side air it keeps things 38-39 degree....after 10 days I cut and freeze. I do trim all fat and silver skin.

If I don't hang I jut trim and freeze, but it usually always a day or two to get back to the house to process.

I wrap in plastic and double wrap in wax freezer paper.

For deer burger, I add 25% beef fat to the grind, it keeps it together and makes it tasty!

PS, nice buck!
Now I like that idea...we have a triple door commercial cooler at the deer camp. we put the meat on racks in totes to help keep the meat dry. I pack the meat in trash bags and then Ice for the trip home. Our deer camp is 5 hours away so when I go I usually stay fro 3-4 days. If I kill on the first day, the meat will age for the duration of my trip. But I get it in the freezer as soon as I get home. Living in the hot south, we don't have optimal temps. for aging in ambient air.
 
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So i got a buck yesterday! Not a monster but i hunt for the freezerView attachment 513971

Buddy came over and helped me clean it up ourselves, saved me a trip and 100 bucks! My question is, i got all the meat cut up and separated into gallon bags, how long should i leave it in the fridge before freezing or since its cut up go ahead and freeze it??

Heres my break down list:
View attachment 513972
Everything is good to freeze except for the burger i gotta grind up still but i was wondering if i should like it age a little in the fridge or is that only for whole chucks of meat?
Nice job!!!

I think the guys have you covered. I only ever have the luxury of letting it bleed out in a hanging cooler or on ice in an igloo style cooler for about 6-8 days as I have to get it processed and in the freezer before work starts up for me after my big hunting trips.

One major tip. If you find tissue that would NOT throw in a skillet and eat then that tissue should be removed for any grind or any steak cuts. Roasts, stew, and braised meat cuts it can be ok to leave as it is cooked and melts away but not in grind or steaks.
Doing this is a major upgrade to the quality of your burger grind, sausage grind, and steak cuts :)
 
I did not, i want to get to the point where i save as much as i can, but i just can't get myself up to the point yet, one step at a time
Also please do not throw out the shanks. They may be my favorite part of the deer. You eat 1 braised venison shank dish and you will be WOWed and kick yourself if you threw them out in the past.
Shanks and the heel muscle meat are tough cuts that IMO should only be braised. I feel anyone who tells you to grind or make jerky out of them has not ever braised them and is giving advice that simply uses up the cuts versus enjoying the hell out of those cuts :D
 
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Yep. I put the hearts in grind meat and sausage....


Now I like that idea...we have a triple door commercial cooler at the deer camp. we put the meat on racks in totes to help keep the meat dry. I pack the meat in trash bags and then Ice for the trip home. Our deer camp is 5 hours away so when I go I usually stay fro 3-4 days. If I kill on the first day, the meat will age for the duration of my trip. But I get it in the freezer as soon as I get home. Living in the hot south, we don't have optimal temps. for aging in ambient air.

On early hunts (deer or elk) it can be very warm in the day here. Getting a large bull down can take many days to get out of the woods and back to camp (before you even pack up camp and head home), so it is typical to de-bone it and store the meat in a game bag for air flow. At night these are hung (out of reach of bears and wolfs) to get cold (you almost have to debone it to cool it as the meat can spoil next to the bone because it won't cool fast enough), then during the day they are put on a clean tarp on the ground in the shade under a pine tree and then covered with the old sleeping bags..... If done right it will keep it very nicely for many days provided it was processed cleanly.
 
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I cool them down as quick as I can, I cut and vac pack within 2 days, have went longer but only dries the meat out, I aint putting meat in a cooler on ice except to get it home. fresh is best for me
 
Meat Aging (meatsandsausages.com) A Marianski web site.....

Meat Aging
When an animal dies, the oxygen stops flowing and many reactions take place inside. For a few hours the meat remains relaxed and may still be processed or cooked. Then muscles contract and the meat stiffens which is known as the “rigor mortis” stage. During that stage, which lasts differently for different animals, the meat should not be processed or cooked as the resulting product will be tough. Meat stock prepared from meats still in the rigor mortis stage is cloudy and has poor flavor. When this stage ends, the meat enters rigor stage and is kept in a cooler. In time it becomes tender again and is ready for processing. It is widely accepted that this happens due to the changes in the protein structure. The length of rigor mortis or rigor stage directly depends on temperature. The higher the temperature, the shorter the stages and vice versa. Make note that aging meat at high temperature will help bacteria to grow and will adversely affect meat’s shelf keeping qualities.

meat-selection-rigor-mortis.gif Effect of rigor mortis
Times for onset and resolution of rigor

AnimalTime to onset of rigorTime for resolution of rigor
Cattle12 - 24 hours2 - 10 days
Pig6 - 12 hours1 - 2 days
Lamb7 - 8 hours1 day
Turkey1/2 - 2 hours6 - 24 hours
Chicken1/2 - 1 hour4 - 6 hours
Rabbit12-20 hours2-7 days
Venison24 - 36 hours6 - 14 days
Looking at the above data, it becomes conclusive that the aging process is more crucial for animals which are older at the slaughter time (cattle, venison). Warm meat of a freshly slaughtered animal exhibits the highest quality and juiciness. Unfortunately there is a very narrow window of opportunity for processing it. The slaughter house and the meat plant must be located within the same building to be effective. Meat that we buy in a supermarket has already been aged by a packing house. If an animal carcass is cooled too rapidly (below 50° F, 10° C) before the onset of the rigor (within 10 hours), the muscles may contract which results in tough meat when cooked. This is known as “cold shortening.” To prevent this the carcass is kept at room temperature for some hours to accelerate rigor and then aged at between 30-41° F, (-1 - 5° C).
 
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Congrats on the harvest . Nice looking Deer . We have to have at least 4 points on one side in Missouri depending on the county .
Plenty of good advice above . I'll just add a good resource for this is your states Fish and game / conservation web site .
 
We try and let hang for about 3 days if weather permits. If close to freeze temps we leave hide on while hanging , A little warmer and we pull the coats off them. Have had to cut up immediately because of freezing temps, leave in totes in fridge or cold shop floor for couple days, wash meat , separate, and freeze.
Yep
DAD660DF-586B-4076-BB5A-33FF4A1800F5.jpeg
 
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