The only aging my venison gets happens prior to the harvest.
For most of my morning harvests, I make every effort to have it entirely processed and in packages in the freezer that same day. The first cooling it receives will be in a freezer. For evening harvests, it get skinned, quartered up and placed in a fridge overnight to be processed first thing the next day.
Early season weather here is not conducive to letting anything hang very long. Heck, we're almost to November and have only had a handful of nights drop below 50F and none yet below 45F. The idea of wet aging is something I would consider. It is certainly easier to process the quarters that have been sitting overnight in a 33F fridge.
Micro Wolverine/Matrix 350 SE
Recovering Excalaholic
I grew up in PA and we always did the same, except we skinned the deer then let it hang on our porch for a week. But that was up north in PA where buck season starts after Thanksgiving.
Now I'm in NC. Archery starts in Sept when it's still 90 degrees. The last 2 night s it has been "really cold"...which is like 48 degrees. So for us southern boys, hanging outside is not really an option. So it's either coolers with ice, or some kind of refrigerator or walk in cooler.
LBJ - processors here are odd too. They want it skinned and sometimes quartered before you drop it off. And still charge $100. In OH I did as you but now I figure if I have to do a lot of the work I might as well just do it all.
Keith
Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths; where the good way is,
and walk in it and find rest for your souls. - Jer 6:16
The only aging my venison gets happens prior to the harvest.
For most of my morning harvests, I make every effort to have it entirely processed and in packages in the freezer that same day. The first cooling it receives will be in a freezer. For evening harvests, it get skinned, quartered up and placed in a fridge overnight to be processed first thing the next day.
Early season weather here is not conducive to letting anything hang very long. Heck, we're almost to November and have only had a handful of nights drop below 50F and none yet below 45F. The idea of wet aging is something I would consider. It is certainly easier to process the quarters that have been sitting overnight in a 33F fridge.
Definitely try the wet aging thing......I've noticed a difference from when I did as you and cut and froze the same day of harvest. After reading that MeatEater article I'm going to go 14 days on this last deer.
Keith
Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths; where the good way is,
and walk in it and find rest for your souls. - Jer 6:16
