3 Hangin

[Bdc]

We have 5 down so far this season. 3 Hangin..wait, make that two hangin right now (just butchered one last night)..Made dad slammed two last week...one was an 8 point. Thrilling for him as this is his first year with the crossbow. He has many illnesses, besides his bad shoulder....so, to see him get excited about hunting again is really special. My brother bagged his first of the season last week....doe. I have a doe and a six so far. Can't wait until muzzle loader starts...Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving!!

Hope you all are well and having fun out in the woods. Be safe.

Bdc

[BOTTOM FEEDER]

 I smell back straps.......................nice going

[tattoo]

nice going. it's Great to be doing things with Dad. 

[horsefly]

how long do you leave em' hangin and at what temp?? Skin on or off?

[BOTTOM FEEDER]

yea it an't that cold out

[horsefly]

We try to leave them hang with fur on for about 2 days at most at 35f then pull fur off leave for about2 or 3 more then cut it all up and grind. Aging I think it's called

[anchor]

the worst thing you can do is leave the skin on while hanging no matter what the temp is, the skin holds in the body heat and the aging process isnt as affected. the aging process begins as soon as you remove the hide and the blood and oxygen start to leave the meat. the longer you hang your deer the better it will taste, if you have access to a walking cooler as i do i have had them hangin for up to 8 days. yes the outside of the carcass will start to turn dark red/black just trim it off and make your cuts, its alot less gamey the longer it hangs. my dad and i used to butcher about 75-125 per season.

[Bdc]

That's funny. My dad's dad was a butcher for 50 years...Means he was butchering in the 30's. We actually still use his knives to this day.... As for the hangin...we usually hang em for up to a week. However, we do leave the hide on. Not for any reason...just the way we do it. I will say, in the area of Jersey that we hunt...no problems with gamey tasting meat. I may have to try the aging thing out. I have knowledge about it...just never thought to do it with our deer. I do have a question  though....For those of you who butcher your own, what kind of knives do you use?? We have a hard time finding good knives that stay sharp and that sharpen well.

Bdc

[Big Rad]

the worst thing you can do is leave the skin on while hanging no matter what the temp is, the skin holds in the body heat and the aging process isnt as affected. the aging process begins as soon as you remove the hide and the blood and oxygen start to leave the meat. the longer you hang your deer the better it will taste, if you have access to a walking cooler as i do i have had them hangin for up to 8 days. yes the outside of the carcass will start to turn dark red/black just trim it off and make your cuts, its alot less gamey the longer it hangs. my dad and i used to butcher about 75-125 per season.

I do my own deer...butcher em that is...... and the hide is on till I butcher.  Aging is a simplified term for letting the meat decompose .  This process begins when the deer is dead.  This is my opinion and verifiable fact. 
As with BDC, we are eating farm fed deer that taste like what they have been eating.  Soybeans, corn, and the various contents of the neighboring houses.  No gamey taste to be found.  A deer killed in warmer temps is gutted, cooled, and quartered as soon as possible. Final dressinh is the same day.

Congratulation BDC on your success

Our deer rarely hang more that 2 days or long enough to stiffen then loosen up again.

[horsefly]

I do have a question  though....For those of you who butcher your own, what kind of knives do you use?? We have a hard time finding good knives that stay sharp and that sharpen well.

Bdc

I have always used Dexter-Russel knives for as long as I  can remember. I use the same for fish too. If you can't personally get a good edge on the knife, it's better to let a pro do it for ya IMHO. I have never had a problem(knock on wood) keeping or getting a edge.

[horsefly]

Anchor, I have seen a guy leave his deer so long it regrew hair back BTW he trimmed it off and cut it up. I believe the deer was in our walk-in for about a month. The most I  would let it hang would be a week. My father inlaw usually cuts his up the same day(if he finds it then) then puts in his outdoor refrigerator. Bad thing is, usually he traps some flies (or they find a hole to get in) but the deposit maggot eggs on them. He cuts them off and grinds the meat. I pass on any "free" deer meat from him.

[horsefly]

I do my own deer...butcher em that is...... and the hide is on till I butcher.  Aging is a simplified term for letting the meat decompose .  This process begins when the deer is dead.  This is my opinion and verifiable fact. 
As with BDC, we are eating farm fed deer that taste like what they have been eating.  Soybeans, corn, and the various contents of the neighboring houses.  No gamey taste to be found.  A deer killed in warmer temps is gutted, cooled, and quartered as soon as possible. Final dressinh is the same day.

Congratulation BDC on your success

Our deer rarely hang more that 2 days or long enough to stiffen then loosen up again.

GOOD THING YA BACKED THAT UP....WHEW HAD ME GOING AT FIRST

[Bdc]

Horsefly,
thanks for the knife tip. I would tend to believe that I can keep a knife edge with the best of them(Learned earlier and fine tuned at culinary school)...as these knives used to very sharp and sharpened very well. What the heck happened?? What kind of $$ we talking for the knives you spoke of??

Bdc

[horsefly]

Horsefly,
thanks for the knife tip. I would tend to believe that I can keep a knife edge with the best of them(Learned earlier and fine tuned at culinary school)...as these knives used to very sharp and sharpened very well. What the heck happened?? What kind of $$ we talking for the knives you spoke of??
Bdc

BDC, I have no clue on the price of those knives, I haven't knife shopped in along time. BTW, I am not 100% sure if the Dexter-Russel Co. is around, might just be Russel knives. Prices for the knives back then were high, but so are high dollar/quality chef knives. Also, I left off this, I bought some of these (not all)knives at wholesale prices,especially the fish boning and filleting knives. I bought them back when I cleaned tons of fish for a living. Good luck shopping for some. There is a electric commercial type sharping wheel. It hones and produces a excellent edge(razor sharp) BUT for the life of me I can't recall the name, with age memory goes.

[anchor]

russel knives are still in business and i use them also but i also use gerber knives, if you wanna find a good knife that will hold an egde for a long time you will have to buy a commercial knife with a steel blade. not stainless, it loses its edge to quick but a hardened steel blade will hold an edge for a good while. i was lucky to get a few good boning knives and fillet knives from my friends grandfather he was a knife maker by trade and made some excellent pieces. he always said stainless was good but hard steel was much better for sharpening purposes. depending where you live you can find dexter-russel knives at a quality sporting goods shop. they are not cheap but well worth the money in my opinion and if you want a decent fillet knife i love the gerber i have 8" blade and very flexible and for 13.00 you cant beat it for the money.

[horsefly]

The best hard steel knife that I have is a Wusstoff, which is German steel, extemely hard. I use a chef's knife made by them and is well balanced. There is other brands and steels such Japenese etc. IMHO, pick one that has the best edge reputation,balanced and for per use. Be prepared to spend the bucks, but you might find either on Ebay or other wholesaler online. I have seen some people in my family go and get knives because os some info mercial or they were on sale at wally world etc.....and end up being [curd] filling up there kitchen drawers. You don't need but 3 or 4......clever, fish,chef's and paring. Some omit the clever and get a good solid boning knife. Which is fine for most home cooks whacking chickens, or tuna etc.
Thanks Anchor for your insight into the Russell knives, oh and my Mom uses a Gerber knife. She says it's the best filleting knife she's ever had. Gerber does make some pretty cool survival knives or multi-tools light weight etc. On the lighter note of hanging, my son got one this evening........with his truck. GOOD NEWS is the truck only got a tiny ping in bumper(FORD TOUGH TRUCK) BAD NEWS, only the tenderlion, one front leg and a ham are good. But this weekend we are supposed to go hunting over on 50,000 acres of NC Game Lands (Goose Creek in southern Beaufort co.) There is deer there, lots of space to hunt, but you must walk in and carry (sometimes) a long way back out. We no longer belong to any hunting clubs becuase of increase in dues, lack of deer, and weird bagging methods and weapon use. Bagging method, first week or two of season all deer, does or bucks, pop your legal tag limit -or- miss out and after time period only kill 6 pointers and up and the legal doe. This place didn't even have a "real" safety zone for us guys who stalk or still hunt. They hunt with dogs 24/7 and use 4 wheelers.  So at $800per year for get it. GOOD LUCK GUYS IF YA GO THIS WEEKEND.....BUNDLE UP

[CHIEF]

 

[tattoo]

WoW, now thats a nice buck. 

[horsefly]

Definitely three hangin'  Wonder what happened to the "other" buck? Thats gotta be a gruesome sight running around with gray matter exposed

[CHIEF]

It died