How long should you hang for?

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chill if you can

I was lucky to find a drinks chiller for my deer that brings the temp to3 degrees i have hung them up to three weeks and they have been fine. you need to let the chiller get cold before you put the deer in, or it takes a long time to get the temp down, also very handy for a few cans arond the sides. great tip about the cold shortning.
Chris
 
When i first started i never had a chiller and would skin and butcher straight away and leave in the fridge for a couple of days which was ok but never thought the meat was that brilliant looking,i now use a large upright fridge with a fan run at about 2 degrees,i usually hang roe skin on for 5-6 days but have gone up to 10 days which seems to be plenty for roe anyway,but the difference it makes to the meat is so obvious when butchered,looks right and is so much more tender,get lots of comments on how great my venison is these days,hanging does make all the difference.
 
drinks chiller

as said before the drinks chillers are great, but hang deer with the skin on 'The first time I used mine I skined the deer first and it tended to dry the carcase, I think because of the fan circulated cold air all the rest I have left the skin on untill butchering and they have been fine.
Chris
 
For my own use, in winter, providing the day temp. doesn't get above say 10C., I am happy to hang a carcass in my shed for 2-3 days.
In Summer, providing it is a cool night, I will let it hang overnight for 10-12 hours max. (protected against flies) but will than skin and butcher it early AM OR make sure it gets into a larder early AM for a few more days at below 7C.

In an ideal world it go into a larder within a few hours of being shot and kept for say 1 week at below 7C.

As a general rule use your nose, eyes and fingers to 'judge' the condition of a carcass. Does it start to whiff? Are flies gathering around it? Does the meat feel as if it is getting a little sticky? If the answer is yes to any of these three questions you have had it at too high a temperature for too long and you need to urgently skin, butcher and chill the joints.

Beware if you are selling a carcass your hygiene standards need to be a lot higher as from the moment you have shot the deer it becomes 'food' and needs to be treated as such.
Personally, if I have controlled the entire process myself (stalk, observation, shot, gralloch, transport, hanging) I feel I can judge when it is right and when it isn't. However, I wouldn't eat meat offered to me by a friend if I can't be sure of how it has been treated and when it was shot and how it was hung for how long.
 
has anyone here or know of anyone getting complaints from neighbors, is there anything wrong with butchering in view of others ? I have had a few comments passed over the fence when I'm working on the carcass ! DSC_0341.webp
 
My neighbours over the road recently mentioned that they see me carrying a deer up the drive and into the garage now and again. Luckily they were nudging in the direction of whether I had any venison going spare, which is nice to know.

Hanging wise I tend to do a couple of weeks. I have pushed up to a month with a dry wipe down now and again to remove the beginnings of mould.

One thing I tried some time ago which was very nice was to hang a back strap up in there and just leave it. Apart from the previously mentioned wipe downs it did about three months, and grew a layer of rather nice looking powdery mould just like salami and halved in size. I ate it raw with no ill effect and it was fantastic, although I must say I wasn't confident enough in my judgement to share it just in case!

My chiller is a fan assisted drinks fridge. Nothing fancy.
 
Does anyone hang with the skin off? I can sometimes use a neighbours chiller but it usually fairly full of pigs and lambs and I think he would prefer them skinned first. I 've also herd that skinning is easier when the carcass is still warm.
 
I hang deer in the chiller with the skin off but wrapped in cellophane to stop the meat drying out. It is so much easier to skin when it is fresh. I got a role of cellophane that they use to hang suits in from the drycleaners...fits a roe perfectly.

​Mulac
 
Mulac said:
I hang deer in the chiller with the skin off but wrapped in cellophane to stop the meat drying out. It is so much easier to skin when it is fresh. I got a role of cellophane that they use to hang suits in from the drycleaners...fits a roe perfectly.

​Mulac
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I hadn't though of covering it to stop it dry out.
Problem solved :)
 
question.

whats the difference between a fridge and a drinks chiller. i have a double drinks chiller and its to big for my needs so was thinking about getting one of these larder upright fridges.

good move of bad move?
 
activeviii said:
question.

whats the difference between a fridge and a drinks chiller. i have a double drinks chiller and its to big for my needs so was thinking about getting one of these larder upright fridges.

good move of bad move?
Click to expand...

Drinks chillers tend to be much more powerful than consumer fridges. An upright "consumer grade" fridge could be e.g. 90W and comparable size chiller 350W.

I'd say it's a bad move money-wise to get rid of your chiller if you have space for it. Dedicated larder fridges are quite expensive, although I'd assume the power is similar to chillers. Best bet would be to trade for single door chiller or used larder fridge?
 
should have started my own thread, it was late and i didn't notice.

i only ever have one beast in at anyone time or it gets used for cooling down pigeons. i have a chance of a Beko AClass larder fridge so was going to use that. my double chiller takes up all the room the shed/workshop.

if someone had a single drinks chiller and wants to swap for my double, with sliding doors, as long as its in the same condition with mine then im cool with that.

all the best

​Phil.
 
Some great tips here I do believe if the animal is relaxed when shot the meat is better thanks for the tips
 
I hang roe for up to 2weeks at 2c, deliciously tender and not particularly gamey.
Always hang them in the skin so they dont dry out to much. Take the tenderloins out before going in the chiller as they'd dry out.
 
Just seen his gadget in one of the rags, i think it was in bushwear, you hang in with the carcass and it will give you the right amount of time to hang compared to temp.

​does it work?
 
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