deer meat in freezer for a month before eating??

[dwain]

I've heard the meat needs to be froze for a month before processing it.

what ya think?

[DocHolladay]

I let mine set in the fridge for 2 weeks then process it. Some people take it straight to the processor after killing it. some soak it in salt water changing the water every 24 hours. Do that for 48 hours and process it. I guess it depends on who showed you what to do and how long you want to wait before you eat it.

[cynic]

I just dress and quarter mine cover it with with ice. As the ice melts I drain the bloody water and dump more ice on it. I do this for 2 or 3 days then process it. Straps and loins usually don't make it to the cooler. This is the easiest for me since I have a big ice machine that runs all during hunting season. Marinate and grill to perfection potatoe and green salad. LETS EAT

[progers]

About 3 days on salted ice here then start the deboning to get it ready to go to the processors. We never freeze the meat before it is processed. Sounds like if you froze it for a month, you contribute to the wild gammey taste!?! Need to let it soak!

[landowner]

hang it, skin it,eat or freeze it. been doing it like that for 20+ years

[carnivore #1]

I've cut meat off the deer right after I hang up the phone from telecheck!!Don't matter to me as long as I don't have to chase it to get my next bite.

[quigleysharps4570]

I've had fried liver and onions going before the liver even cooled.

[jensing]

Maybe I ask the wrong butcher, I was told that beef is put in a cooler before processing is. It brakes down the marbel and thus the meat is more tender. Then the butcher ask me how much marbel does a deer have? Laughed and walked off. Giving me reason to believe there is no need to cool it. I butcher my own, have for years and those that take pride in this know it all begins in the field, and one hair is to many.

I would agree the salt baths of the meat have to draw out a lot of blood.

My wife a country gal beats the tenderlon with a meat mallet before flouring and frying, a little salt & pepper and a fork is all you need to slice it. Opps the big bisquit too.

And now the talk is cutting th ebone and having that cause your meat to have a foul taste opinons on that issue anyone thanks
is to many

[DocHolladay]

You need to at least wiat 48 hours for rigor mortis to leave. If you eat some before it sets in, it will be good, but cut it up and eat while rigor is there and the meat will be tough as a board.

Jensing, as for the marbeling, deer dont have it, but the aging process breaks down the membrane that holds the muscle tissue together. The longer it ages, the more that membrane breaks down and the more tender the meat is. As long as the temp doesnt get below 32 or above 40(35 is ideal), you can age it for as long as you like. Some beef is aged for 6 months or more. I let mine go for 2 weeks and it tastes great(not gamey), and is very tender. I have never started any earlier than the 2 weeks, but I have gone as much as a month.

[jensing]

ok, ill try that that might make a difference on my next deer if the weather coperates, in ky they wont let venison and beef comingle even in a locker, our processors wont even accept a deer when they do both except on certain days. So finding a cooler is just about out, unless I unload that bud in the outbuilding and make it into a cooler hmm.

so i either need few days temps staying below 45 degrees 24/7,
or that bud is about to be sat out

[cuzins8]

I killed a deer Saturday morning(8:30) and we put the back straps in some stew that afternoon for dinner.It was awesome.....!

[Bang4bucks]

most people dont know it but this is how MOST, not all butchers operate when it comes to venison. you bring in your deer, tell them what you want made out of it. you get that back. Now, it doesnt necessarily mean you got YOUR exact deer back. you got venison, but it may have came from someone elses deer. they usually distrubute by the average lbs. so unless you specificly specify you want YOUR deer back, you prolly have someone elses. and theres no real way to know for sure unless you stand there and watch them butcher it right in front of you.