How long can you wait before processing a deer?

[katemegan]

My husband brought home a deer 9 days ago. It sat on the garage floor for 2 days and then he hung it. He cut off some of the meat about 5 days ago and froze it - he is going to have it ground at a later date. The rest of the deer has been lying on the garage floor ever since. He has yet to finish taking the meat off it. Is it ok to wait over 9 days to take care of a deer? It has been as warm as 40 F here.

[BuckeyBuckhunter]

I wouldn't trust it. I personally don't think it should have laid on the floor at all, but rather hung the whole time.

[DocHolladay]

I wouldnt let mine lay on the floor longer than I had too. Bacteria grows on meat and food products at temps 40 and above. If a deer was to be "aged", it needs to be at a temp between 33-39* with the 35-37* range being my preferred temp. I have let deer hang outside for as long as 7 days with the hide on and have deboned it and stored it in a iced cooler or the fridge for as long as 15 days.

[Bowhunters]

Certainly doesn't sound like he's giving it the best of care but it really doesn't sound like the temperature is a problem if it indeed only got up to around 40 degrees F.

As Doc said, for aging it doesn't hurt a deer carcass to be in the 33-40 degree window and if it only got up to 40F and the carcass was in the shade of an unheated garage the carcass will never get close to that. If it was out in the sunlight or got warmer than 40F for a period then its an issue.

Leaving it lay on the garage floor is what bothers me in your story, the thought of a dog, cat, rat, mice, etc. possibly getting in there and munching on my deer makes the thought of deer steaks or chili a hard thing to swallow, literally. LOL

Laying on the floor also doesn't help age the meat very well, hanging it does best because the weight of the carcass actually helps stretch the meat as it hangs there and that stretching helps the meat be more tender and helps aid in cooling the carcass.

The closer to freezing the carcass is at as it hangs the longer it needs to hang to age so if its been pretty close or just below freezing at night and upper 30's to 40 for highs then 9 days probably isn't out of line, but again laying on the floor instead of hanging is the big issue I would have.

[ridgerunner1965]

when a deer lays on the ground, all the blood and fluids left in it will tend to gravitate towards the lowest points that are in contact with the floor. yuk!if temps were no higher than 40 it may be edible but agin, yuk!cut it up for dog food and shoot another deer to eat. i like to cut mine up the next day after the kill. seems like iver heard that since here is not much fat marbleing in a deer that ageing really doesnt help tenderize the meat much. anybody have any info on this?

[DocHolladay]

There is a thin membrane that holds the muscles together. This is what make the meat tough and take forever to chew. When you let it age, you are letting that membrane breakdown and become thinner. The longer you age, the thinner is gets and the thinner it is, the more tender and more "melt in your mouth". Aging also helps get rid of the gamey flavor.

[BuckeyBuckhunter]

I like the gamey taste
thats why i hunt deer and not cows

[KwackWacker]

I like the gamey taste
thats why i hunt deer and not cows

Not to highjack the thread but you need to check out cattle hunting in New Zealand on youtube. I thought it was a joke at first but it's for real.