How long to hang this roe?

[BlueJuice]

Went out yesterday on a guided stalk and took my first deer.

The pro stalker I was with showed me how to gralloch and skin, the skinned carcass is currently hanging in my garage which just happens to be sat at 7 degrees C.

Now I did get advice on hanging and butchering, but it was a lot to take in so just need some bits clarifying if possible now the dust has settled.

It seems most will hang deer with the skin on still, I was keen to see a demo on the skinning so the skins off - does this influence hanging time at all this time of year?

I’ve got an opportunity to butcher later today, which will be approx 24h since the deer was shot - is this fine or should I leave longer? Does it really matter?

 

[VSS]

It'll be fine.
If you do want to hang it for longer, I'd recommend wrapping it in a muslin "carcass sock" to try to prevent the meat drying out too much. There is a reason why deer are usually hung in skin.

 

[User00056]

I've butchered roe the same day they were shot on the odd occasion and they've been fine, if a bit tough. It's best to let the carcass 'set up' though, and after 24 hours it should be fine. I've always hung roe for at least a few days, but I've found that any longer is unnecessary

 

[BlueJuice]

It'll be fine.
If you do want to hang it for longer, I'd recommend wrapping it in a muslin "carcass sock" to try to prevent the meat drying out too much. There is a reason why deer are usually hung in skin.

ll give it a crack later today in that case!

I've butchered roe the same day they were shot on the odd occasion and they've been fine, if a bit tough. It's best to let the carcass 'set up' though, and after 24 hours it should be fine. I've always hung roe for at least a few days, but I've found that any longer is unnecessary

I take it by set up you mean letting rigor mortis pass? Is it pretty obvious when the carcass is good to go?

 

[finnbear270]

I skin 3rd to 5th day after putting in chiller

 

[Keith Edmunds]

I've eaten meat from carcasses 24 hrs old to 10 days old. If I am perfectly honest, I would say that the age of the deer, how it was shot and then handled have as much impact as hanging time. I really don't notice that much difference but then most of mine are diced or minced, hardly any difference in the taste of the backstraps.

 

[User00056]

ll give it a crack later today in that case!

I take it by set up you mean letting rigor mortis pass? Is it pretty obvious when the carcass is good to go?

Sorry, yes. I should've been clearer. If you butcher too early the meat will have a jelly-like consistency while still raw. 24 hours is plenty of time to let it go through the process though.

Congratulations on your first deer, by the way!

 

[Oh6]

Went out yesterday on a guided stalk and took my first deer.

I’ve got an opportunity to butcher later today

If it is also going to be the first deer that you have butchered, it is worth taking a look at Scott Rea's you tube channel.

He has lots of good videos to guide you through what to do and the different ways that you can go about it:

Google Search

Good luck and enjoy the process

 

[slider]

I dont fine it make any difference to the flavour of roe, whether you leave a day or 7 days. I just do it when it suits. I have butchered the same day as shot but felt the meat was "soft" and not so easily worked.

I fine they are easier skinned if the carcass is still warm, but whether I do this depends on the time I have when I get the carcass home

 

[Tim.243]

Went out yesterday on a guided stalk and took my first deer.

The pro stalker I was with showed me how to gralloch and skin, the skinned carcass is currently hanging in my garage which just happens to be sat at 7 degrees C.

Now I did get advice on hanging and butchering, but it was a lot to take in so just need some bits clarifying if possible now the dust has settled.

It seems most will hang deer with the skin on still, I was keen to see a demo on the skinning so the skins off - does this influence hanging time at all this time of year?

I’ve got an opportunity to butcher later today, which will be approx 24h since the deer was shot - is this fine or should I leave longer? Does it really matter?

I do muntjac the next day which saves running the chiller. It is not beef with all the fat in the meat there is hardly any
country's with limited refrigeration kill and cut them up that day (meat/fish markets)

 

[Mungo]

I've eaten meat from carcasses 24 hrs old to 10 days old. If I am perfectly honest, I would say that the age of the deer, how it was shot and then handled have as much impact as hanging time. I really don't notice that much difference but then most of mine are diced or minced, hardly any difference in the taste of the backstraps.

Exactly this.

I’ve eaten roe from within 20 minutes of being shot to 14 days hanging.

Age and sex of deer, time of year and body condition have far more influence on how it tastes than number of days hanging.

 

[63]

I am an apartment dweller at the moment - I have done a few roe and muntjac this winter pottery much as soon as I’ve got them in the house. My record was field to sausages in 11 hours with a roe.

All were youngish females, not had any issues.

 

[Devon Stalker]

Went out yesterday on a guided stalk and took my first deer.

The pro stalker I was with showed me how to gralloch and skin, the skinned carcass is currently hanging in my garage which just happens to be sat at 7 degrees C.

Now I did get advice on hanging and butchering, but it was a lot to take in so just need some bits clarifying if possible now the dust has settled.

It seems most will hang deer with the skin on still, I was keen to see a demo on the skinning so the skins off - does this influence hanging time at all this time of year?

I’ve got an opportunity to butcher later today, which will be approx 24h since the deer was shot - is this fine or should I leave longer? Does it really matter?

As the others have said, crack on. If the skin’s off then there’s more risk of fly issues and the meat should have relaxed by now. Take a look at Scott Rea for butching videos on YouTube, hero!

 

[Buchan]

I was taught by an absolute artist in processing venison. I also like these as a guide:

Take your time, and enjoy it!

 

[BlueJuice]

Well tacked it yesterday following one of Scott Rea’s videos. Can’t say it turned out exactly like his but I’ve definitely got a freezer full of venison. Had a steak for lunch and it was delicious.

Took me bloody ages though to butcher. How long would it typically take start to finish for someone with a bit of practice?

 

[VSS]

Well tacked it yesterday following one of Scott Rea’s videos. Can’t say it turned out exactly like his but I’ve definitely got a freezer full of venison. Had a steak for lunch and it was delicious.

Took me bloody ages though to butcher. How long would it typically take start to finish for someone with a bit of practice?

If you're going to do the job properly then be prepared for it to take a while.
Anyone can chop a deer into oven sized lumps in 20 minutes or so, but if you're going to bone it all out, trim off all the gristle and membranes, roll and tie your joints, separate stewing dice from quick-cook dice, do a couple of different grades of mince, a few different types of steaks, maybe some burgers too, and pack it all and label it all and clean up afterwards, then it's worth spending the time to get it right. Probably a few hours all in.

 

[Oh6]

Well tacked it yesterday following one of Scott Rea’s videos. Can’t say it turned out exactly like his but I’ve definitely got a freezer full of venison. Had a steak for lunch and it was delicious.

Took me bloody ages though to butcher. How long would it typically take start to finish for someone with a bit of practice?

As @VSS says, assume that it is going to take you a couple of hours, certainly for your first few and depending on how much you a breaking them down.

For example you could:

• Leave the legs whole
• or...
  • Take off the shanks
    • Leave the haunch whole
    • or...
      • Bone and roll the haunch
      • Break it into its muscle groups as mini-joints
      • Cut into leg steaks
      • Dice some/all of it

Depending on the time you have or what you want to achieve, the time can vary a lot. Peoples "quoted times" need to be taken in context of what cuts they are ending up with and how high a yield (clean the bones are!) they are happy with.

Over time, you will be able to better visualise where the bones contour to under the meat, and get a routine of how you butcher them.

It is worth watching some more of Scott's videos, he demonstrates various ways of breaking down each part. (You just might want to avoid the video where he breaks down a roe at "full speed" in about 20 minutes )

 

[gelert]

Cutting up the night before into primals helps.
As does maybe getting your diced and mince out of the way.
Trying to do it all in one day,then vacuum pack,then if you have burgers etc is a slog.

 

[Sitka]

As a beginner..(next roe carcass will be my 42nd in 18 months of learning),I find the bulk of time is in the haunches, so I get the best bits ( tender loin and loin) off first , then tackle anything going in the dog off the front end....( which is a quick trim with a fair bit of waste as I favor a decent hole with the .308 to mitigate risk of a runner). The haunches i may hang back up and tackle later, as breaking them down into cube and fine or coarse mince takes me about three times as long as all the rest put together!

 

[VSS]

As a beginner..(next roe carcass will be my 42nd in 18 months of learning),I find the bulk of time is in the haunches, so I get the best bits ( tender loin and loin) off first , then tackle anything going in the dog off the front end....( which is a quick trim with a fair bit of waste as I favor a decent hole with the .308 to mitigate risk of a runner). The haunches i may hang back up and tackle later, as breaking them down into cube and fine or coarse mince takes me about three times as long as all the rest put together!

That's interesting.
I find it's the shoulders that take me a disproportionate amount of time. Once they're out of the way (I do them first) the rest doesn't seem so bad.
But I agree, there's a lot of work in the haunches. Particularly if you're trying to get a whole range of different cuts out of them (each haunch will do some medallions, a few rump steaks, a roasting joint, some best dice, some stir-fry strips, some mince and a shank).