What is the best way to prep meat before butchering if you don't have access to a walk in cooler. Soak in what and for how long or etc.....

i use an Igloo MaxCold 5-day ice cooler & keep it packed in ice & water age my meat; drain every morning & re-fill for 7 days

You don't have to do anything before you freeze it. Just soak it in salt water a couple of days before you cook it.

you can age it in a cooler for a week or 2..................Now, "water aging" (like BGD mentioned above) vs "dry aging" is a hotly debated topic and you can read plenty of opinions, either way, by googling, but if you have a decent size cooler you can dry age in a cooler by just putting a rack in it to keep the meat above ice.

I'm wanting to make it tender as possible and I like a bit of the wild taste.



Good idea, didn't think of that one.

What G omer said. I did my last tenderloin for 10 days in a cooler with ice and I could cut it with a fork when I cooked it. It was the best I have had and the first one I have aged. I will do 10-14 days of I kill another

I've aged 2 boneless venison quarters in a large off shore cooler for 21 days. The meat was fantastic.

Makes me want to build a walk-in.

In the past I have only soak aged for 3 days and some of it was mighty tuff.



Was that dry or with water?

Do you soak your steaks in water? If you want to age, put in a cooler with ice, but put meat on a rack or something to keep it off ice and out of water

I always age mine in a ice chest covered in ice for 5-7 days if its a old buck or doe. Young buck or doe I’ll take them to the processor who hangs them a week before cutting.

I used to waste my time soaking, draining, blah blah blah. It finally dawned on me that I don't want brown steaks or hamburger meat, so why would I want to remove everything from the deer meat? I kill it, and sometimes drop it off at the processor the same day. My meat tastes great.

I usually de-bone mine while it is still hanging(everything except front shoulders). I then pack it on ice. Drain the cooler and repack it with ice. I will usually have it in the freezer within 5-6 days. I slice up what I plan on grinding into sizes that will fit into my grinder. Freeze that in gallon sized bags until I have enough to grind. I have a big grinder and usually wait until I have 3-4 deer before breaking it out.

Aged meat taste no different to me than if I just killed it and slapped it on the grill. I don’t get it either. Tough deer are tough and tender deer are tender. The key to having great tasting and tender meat is what you do it it in the hours leading up to cooking and the cooking itself. Most importantly, do not thaw meat and cook it the same day. Let it thaw over night and then cook it when it reaches room temperature.

there's a lot of truth to this comment; i will say, on the whole, doe are more tender than buck (unless it's a young buck like Gomer likes to shoot). based on my experiences, an old buck w/big horns looks great on the wall but tastes like chit on the plate.

Do what i did. I found a used refrigerator on Facebook marketplace with no freezer. I put racks in it where i can hang my quarters. I let them dry age for 10 days. The meat is fine and i don’t have to deal with coolers and ice.

I’ve killed a lot of mature bucks that were great eating. I don’t think they’re any different than a doe. Actually, the two most tender deer I’ve ever eaten weighed 240 and 215. They were fine.

interesting; by "mature", what do you mean - age-wise? my comments were more along what i said -- OLD buck (ie 7+ years old) ... i shot & mounted a 9 year old buck & the meat off that deer could be used for retreading tires ...

discussions like these remind me of cornbread discussions - everybody has their "formula" & they by God almost take a religious stance on it, too ... LOL

Never understood the "soak in ice and salt for x-days" deal. Cut it up, trim and clean it, eat it or freeze it.

Yep, that’ll work great! Luckily I have access to a walk in cooler

Run him with 4 or 5 different packs of walkers, gut shoot with 5 rounds of 00 buck, throw on the dog box and ride it around till late afternoon and won't nothing eat it.

You obviously know nothing about caring for meat or processing

THIS^^^^

The two I’m referring to were 4 and 5 years old.

You need to let the blood drain out. We put in Refrig for a week or so and keep the blood washed out of it. If kept in a cooler with ice, put in plastic bags. You have to let the lactic acid get out of the meat to remove the wild taste from it. This is what causes the whang of deer. That many people don't like. Meat is any kind is a lot better when allowed to hang 10 to 14 days in a walkin.

There is a guy on Pensacola Fishing Forum who said you can shoot your deer and bring it to him and he will clean it and age in walk in cooler for 2 weeks for $50. Problem is he is located in Gulf Breeze.

Me neither. I only ice down to buy time if I have a delay going to processor or am processing myself and cool the carcass. If I'm able to get right to processor I just go. I have a friend that likes to do the ice water and salt deal for 3 days. He lets the meat soak and drains in morning. Uses a whole container of salt each of 3 days. I never understood that because a processor told me water is your enemy. You want to cool the carcass but the water creates nasty brown gray meat. This processor told me to keep meat on ice with drain open or drain every morning and evening. He was against soaking in salt and water and ice. He advised to Ice and drain every morning and evening to keep meat out of water.

As far as meat tenderness, If a deer is not ancient I want steaks cut from it. If it's very old, I only butterfly the tenderloins and backstraps. Everything else is for burger and sausage. I just got a FL deer that was collecting social security. He only had 4 lower front teeth he was so old. Had the processor do bacon burger, jalapeño and cheese, and cheese and garlic sausage with hams, shoulder, neck, ribs etc. I only asked to butterfly the tenderloins and backstraps. I hate tough steak from an old deer.

I aged my last 1 in my drink fridge in the garage for 2 weeks....worked really well.
If I use a processor I get them to hang it for 3 weeks.

Got a old frig..going to hang the meat at about 35 degrees for 7 to 14 days and sample it along the way..

The only 'whang' that I've ever tasted in venison is when stomach contents come in contact with the meat. That stuff can't be removed other than by cutting/trimming the affected meat. The whole aging thing is a waste of time to me and I've been eating venison pretty regularly since the late 70s.

I killed a 6yr old last year during the rut and it tasted great. It was hung for about two weeks. I firmly believe in the hanging. The last meat i got that was terrible i soaked in a cooler for two days quartered, because i killed it late the day before thanksgiving. Took it to the processor in a cooler, it sucked. Ill never soak another deer. Ive killed some that smelled like an old billy goat, they were all good to eat. To me, the processor is the key, and hang the deer. Dont they hang beef and hogs when they kill them? Why would a deer be any different.

See buzzards following that truck in my mind! I talked to the local processor one time and he said people brought deer in like that all the time. They would tell them they shouldn't eat it, but the guy would still insist they process it.
Then they wonder why the deer taste like sht!

Yeah, i gut em while theyre still hot, and get them to the processor real quick like, that helps too.

One processor I used to use would only take quartered deer in cooler(out of business now), now just take them and pay the fees, The question I got is how much better is it for the overall process as jwalker77 just said "gut em while there still hot and get them to the processor"?

When I can’t get mine to the processor (which is not a lot but does happen) I learned to get gallon jugs of frozen water and put the meat on top of those. Keeps them cool in a cooler and won’t deal with all of the free floating water. Has worked like a charm for me. Don’t have to worry about draining it every morning and refilling with ice. In a good cooler (igloo max or yeti) the gallons will stay frozen 4-6 days.

LOL

Well, I hung the old buck meat in the old frig for two wks. What was tuff as hell is now tender and delicious, tenderloin cuts with a fork. I processed one ham and I'm going to let the other hang for another wk.

luckily I hav access to a walk-in cooler, if not I like to leave mine in a cooler with ice and drain the water daily for 3-4 days.

Dry aging is the best way. Anywhere from two weeks to a month. Trim off the mold and eat it rare.

You ever heard of a high end steak house offering a ribeye soaked in a cooler of ice water for a week?
Hell no. They dry age it for a month.

The entire "put it in a cooler with ice and salt for a week" thing just completely baffles me.

But, to each his own.

“How to ruin a piece of venison “

Soak in ice water for a week.
Marinate in Italian dressing.
Stuff with cream cheese and jalapeños.
Wrap in bacon.
Grill to medium.

Now you’ve got a tasteless piece of vension that has a strong flavor of Italian dressing, cream cheese, jalapeño, and bacon...

Well I do like the cream cheese, jalapeños, and bacon. However I skip the first two steps and grill till bacon is done(which usually leaves meat rare/medium rare)

Here is a solid recipe that will likely determine whether you really like deer meat or if you like the thought of eating deer meat.

Ingredients:

- Half of one venison back-strap (whole)
- Olive Oil
- Kosher Salt
- Coarse Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder

Equipment:

- Charcoal Grill
- Charcoal Briquets
- Wood smoking chips or chunks of your choice (I prefer hickory)
- Meat Thermometer, with probe that you can leave in the meat while cooking
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil

Directions:
Thaw the back-strap in your fridge for a day or 2 until completely thawed out. Remove from fridge, and trim off any silver-skin or fat that remains on the meat (if it's white, get it off!). Brush or rub the meat liberally with olive oil. Coat generously with kosher salt, coarse black pepper, and a light dusting of garlic powder. Let the meat rest on the counter while you prep your grill.

Pile charcoal briquets to one side of your grill, light and wait until fully ashed over. Leave the briquets on one side of the grill only, as you will need one half of the grill for indirect cooking. When your grill is ready, you shouldn't be able to hold your hand over the briquets more than 5 seconds without burning yourself. Sear backstrap on both sides about 3-5 minutes, or until you have slight charring or grill marking to your preference. Move backstrap to the opposite side of your grill off of direct heat. Insert your meat thermometer's probe into the thickest part of the back-strap. Place a handful of wood chips or 2 wood chunks directly onto the briquets and close the lid. Move your grill's vents to about half-way open. Cook until the internal temp reaches 145F to 150F.

Remove from the grill, wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice into medallions of your desired thickness and serve.

Nailed it. Basically the same exact thing I do...

145 degrees!??! the horror!?!

The two most common methods for aging meat is dry aging and wet aging. Dry aging is when the deer hangs up to two weeks at around 36 degrees. Blood drains by dripping. Wet aging is when the meat is packed in ice to hold it around 36 degrees. Meat is not immersed in water. Melting ice drains from the cooler and rinses blood on its way. Ice is added on top every few days as necessary. Both techniques were taught by Dr. Jones at Auburn Meat Science Lab. Dry aging is preferred if you have a walk-in cooler. But both techniques work just fine. I've been using wet aging for 20+ years and am very happy with the meat quality.

I would dry age every piece of intact meat I eat if I had the space to do it. A long time ago I dry aged a backstrap for almost 2 months. It was incredible.

I cook my backstrap steaks and tenderloins rare. We marinate some, and pan sear some with salt & pepper, Chupacabra Rub, or Everglades. Because I had a great season, we only ate beef 4 times last year and ate deer 3-5 times a week.

My cholesterol, which was already good, dropped over 20 points.

Back in January we aged one at least 3 weeks.




Actually is was about 3 hours. Just long enough to get it out of the woods and the back straps and heart out so we could cook dinner.

Read this about aging meat:

http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2014/the-meat-prophet-of-peru/


It's interesting and I'd love to visit. Also would love to try this if I had the room/place to do it. Here's a portion of the story:

He follows with a porterhouse, an axe-handle rib eye, and a string of other imposing cuts that he’s carefully aged at Osso. This is where Garibaldi is moving the traditional grill master role into unchartered territory. They start at 30 days, then increase to 45 and 60. You can taste the collagen breaking down a little bit more with each cut, resulting in more nuanced flavors. Each is muskier and funkier than the last. He finishes some by holding them directly over the flames. Others he sits right in the charcoal and covers in ash. He moves on to a steak aged 120 days, and then, for the grand finale, a 160-day-old piece of Wagyu. Over the course of nearly six months of aging, natural enzymes in the protein break down and the carbohydrates are converted into sugar, so the flavors are richer and more concentrated. The sizzling beef smells like buttered popcorn. Every bite tastes of pure umami.

I'm with ya.

I’ll go too!!

Far out. Heck I'll try it.

I've never understood it either. What other meat do we soak in water?

I can see aging it, if that's an option.

The salt is supposed to help draw out the blood and people think that gives it a less gamey taste. It certainly helps draw out the blood, but I've never notice an appreciable difference in taste.

How venison is going to taste starts by how you take care of it.

I've always said that if you shoot a prize Angus steer and haul it around on the hood of your truck for 3 days to make sure all your buddies see it, it's gonna taste like crap too.

I de-bone my deer right away and place the meat in gallon zip lock bags and put on ice or in a fridge. It doesn't take up too much room when it is deboned. I let it stay cooled for around 10 days but have gone up to 2 weeks, then I do the final "processing" and vacuum seal and freeze.

I think the most important part is in the de-boning. Ideally, you don't want to cut it up when rigor mortis has set in, but before. Keeping your hands and your knife clean is essential. Don't touch the tarsals, then the meat. Don't get hair all over the meat.

I am not a big fan of soaking in saltwater, but I have done that before. My deer do not taste "gamey". I've processed bucks in full rut that really stink bad, but ended up with some excellent tender and tasty meat.