What is the longest you've aged a big game animal?

[TwistedSage]

we ate a piece of backstrap last Thursday at camp from a bull I killed Tuesday. (The animal was completely deboned and bagged within three hours time from kill) it was extremely tough and chewy which I didn’t expect. Hoping that a weeks time will change that but not optimistic. Will try more tomm evening. Anyone have any idea why?

Just evidence from my 2018 muley but all my steaks and roast became more tender as time went on in the freezer. I do think the freezing and breaking of the protein cell walls has to do with it. Either that or I just got better at cooking them each time.

 

[Gr8bawana]

My game usually ages for about a week. Since I don't really have anyplace at home to do it I have to pay for cold storage.
As far as flavor I don't know that I can tell the difference but I do know that we've eaten an antelope backstrap from a buck I had taken that same day and it was tough but the flavor was great. That was the first and last time I took an animal and I butchered and froze it the same day, all of it was tough.
It is aged on the bone simply because it's easier to handle that way so I don't know if it is any different if aged boneless.

 

[hank4elk]

I have hung a buck for a week in a cool barn.
Had a cow freeze hanging in a tree a few years ago. Had to bring each quarter in to thaw & break down.
I prefer to leave them hung whole for a couple days if it is cool in daytime with a breeze. Otherwise it is bag & hang if possible.
I like to hang to post rigor at least, whenever possible. I do think it makes a difference in texture & flavor.
If it is away from my truck or camp I do gutless. Only boned out one elk out in the field. It was a bit tough,but still good.

I rarely accept meat from others these days. Most folks do not know what they do not know and it shows in the meat.
Got a bull from a couple real nice guys a few years ago and it was excellent tablefare. Taken in warm weather too,by pros in my book. It was cooled & in freezer 3 days after it was taken.

 

[WyoDoug]

I do antelope archery beginning in August, so antelope does not get aged much. Deer and elk I typically harvest in October so that depends on the weather. If I have highs below 70 and lows above 30, I age it for 3-7 days. If I get anything during archery season, it's usually way too warm to do aging, so I quarter and debone immediately and get it on ice.

 

[Wrong Burgundy]

Bringing this thread back to life just because I would like some input on if there is any benefit or a preferred method to aging backstrap.

I shot a mule deer buck on Friday, quartered it up (bone in) and packed him off the mountain. All four quarters were in game bags and are hanging on the north side of the house; they are cold and aging nicely.

I did hang the backstraps in their bag for the one night, then trimmed them up and got them wrapped up and in the freezer on Saturday. Last night I thawed out about a 16-18 oz. section of one backstrap for dinner, and grilled it as I do all steaks -- salt, pepper, hot grill, rested it for 10 minutes, and cut into medallions. It was beautiful, rare meat; I don't even consider "medium rare" an option with backstrap. But damn if it wasn't really chewy.....good flavor, but I was bummed at the tough/chewy bite it had to it. Where did I go wrong? I have never had that issue with antelope (young, old, rutty, does, bucks, etc.) but this backstrap was a disappointment.

Any advice on how to proceed with the remaining backstraps? They were just trimmed up and left whole, so I have a fair bit left to work with. Is there any benefit to aging them, or will as some others have mentioned some improvement as they "age" in the freezer?

 

[WyoDoug]

Bringing this thread back to life just because I would like some input on if there is any benefit or a preferred method to aging backstrap.

I shot a mule deer buck on Friday, quartered it up (bone in) and packed him off the mountain. All four quarters were in game bags and are hanging on the north side of the house; they are cold and aging nicely.

I did hang the backstraps in their bag for the one night, then trimmed them up and got them wrapped up and in the freezer on Saturday. Last night I thawed out about a 16-18 oz. section of one backstrap for dinner, and grilled it as I do all steaks -- salt, pepper, hot grill, rested it for 10 minutes, and cut into medallions. It was beautiful, rare meat; I don't even consider "medium rare" an option with backstrap. But damn if it wasn't really chewy.....good flavor, but I was bummed at the tough/chewy bite it had to it. Where did I go wrong? I have never had that issue with antelope (young, old, rutty, does, bucks, etc.) but this backstrap was a disappointment.

Any advice on how to proceed with the remaining backstraps? They were just trimmed up and left whole, so I have a fair bit left to work with. Is there any benefit to aging them, or will as some others have mentioned some improvement as they "age" in the freezer?

Low and slow. Most people cook at too high of heat or way too long. Except for searing, I don't cook steak anything at higher than 300-325. Sometimes I cook at 250-275. Use moisture if needed to keep it from drying out, i.e., brine, water, marinade but whatever you do cook it very slow and at low heat. Backstraps do benefit from aging to answer your question. Dry aging causes proteins to be released that works to tenderize the meat.

I focus on the internal temp rather than the outside temp. You should keep the outside temp lower than 350 except to sear and closer to 300. In high altitude, it sometimes takes a higher temp to cook meat. Be patient and allow it sufficient time to cook at the lowest temp you can do with what you got, no lower than 250. I recommend searing the meat prior to cooking then cook in the oven at low temp or on the grill with it turned to below medium heat and put the steaks on the upper rack away from the flames.

 

[deer_shooter]

I generally stick with 5-7 days as long as conditions permit. I hung a doe once for 13 days and the amount I had to trim off due to mold/crust just wasnt worth it.

 

[2rocky]

Bringing this thread back to life just because I would like some input on if there is any benefit or a preferred method to aging backstrap.



Any advice on how to proceed with the remaining backstraps? They were just trimmed up and left whole, so I have a fair bit left to work with. Is there any benefit to aging them, or will as some others have mentioned some improvement as they "age" in the freezer?

Was it less than 48 hours after the kill? Rigor mortis relaxes around 48 hours. I like to keep big muscles on the bone (quarters) so they have something to pull against.


Eileen Clarke wrote a good article

The First 48 Hours After Your Harvest: This is when rigor mortis is going in, and then out again. When it’s in, the carcass that was once loosey-goosey is now as stiff as a board. If you let the carcass freeze now, your steaks and roasts will be tough – even if you started out with a tender, little forkhorn. And it doesn’t matter if it froze on the meat pole, by accident, or in your freezer. It’s what meat scientists call “thaw rigor.” It’s permanent, so no amount of moist cooking will cure it. So be patient. Let the rigor run its course. The animal will get stiff, then less stiff. Then you can freeze it.

The Next 48 hours: Rigor should be out now, and it’s time to make a decision. Cut a piece of shoulder steak off and cook it. If it’s not as tender as you’d like (and it didn’t suffer ‘thaw rigor’) now is the time to tenderize by aging.

Tenderize By Aging: But How Long? Temperature effects aging. At 80 degrees, it gallops. At 20 degrees, it crawls. In a perfect world, you’d age the meat at 33 to 36 degrees, until it’s as tender as it can get. We aged a tough, old elk tenderloin in the fridge one year to test time and temperature (a constant 36). Two to 3 days did almost nothing; 7-10 days saw a tremendous difference. After that, there was improvement, but it was minimal. It was time to put him in the freezer.

a chart I had to memorize in college...

At the bottom of Fig. II-6 is three sarcomeres representing the contractile states of the muscle at the beginning, onset, and completion of rigor. The left, prerigor sarcomere can still contract and relax, has a limited number of cross bridges, and is very sensitive to some meat processing conditions. The center sarcomere is shorter indicating that the muscle is shortening just as far as the skeletal restraint will allow. Calcium is leaking out of the SR (the sarcoplasmic reticulum) and stimulates muscle contraction and formation of cross bridges between muscle filaments. The sarcomere on the right represents the final contractile state of post-rigor muscle where the number of cross bridges between the filaments is greatest, the distance between muscle protein filaments if the lowest, and the meat is the least tender. Rigor, therefore, decreases WHC because of less total open space for entrapment and holding of water.

The time muscle remains in the sensitive delay phase of rigor depends upon the chill room conditions (temperature, air movement, carcass spacing, etc), the fatness and total mass of the carcasses, muscle location within a carcass, and the type of muscle cells (fibers) within a muscle. In addition, the state of the animal before death has major impacts on meat quality. Exhausted or highly excited animals go into rigor faster than rested animals because their total energy supply (creatine phosphate and glycogen) is less and the critical level of ATP needed to delay rigor is soon reached. Meat from excited animals at slaughter is very likely to exhibit some degree of PSE, less WHC, and may have greater spoilage potential (due to its wet surfaces) than normal pH meat. Meat from exhausted animals at slaughter will have a higher pH and WHC[ Water Holding Capacity ] than normal but often has some undesirable quality characteristics (e.g., its darker color and greater susceptibility to microbial spoilage (due to the higher pH) even though it is just as wholesome and nutritious compared with meat with a normal rigor mortis pattern. These undesirable muscle properties result from the interaction between timing of the events, muscle pH, and carcass temperature; all three of which ultimately affect WHC.

 

[trb]

Interesting thread...I have had an elk shoulder hanging in my garage for 8 days, about to start processing it now. I am looking forward to comparing it to the rear quarter which I processed as soon as I got home.

 

[WyoDoug]

I generally stick with 5-7 days as long as conditions permit. I hung a doe once for 13 days and the amount I had to trim off due to mold/crust just wasnt worth it.

This is true. The longer you dry age, the more you have to trim so you have to factor that in. Personally, I don't dry age more than 2-3 days myself.

 

[JLS]

You froze it way too quick. There is no need whatsoever to low and slow backstrap.
Wet age them in the fridge for 3-4 days.

 

[JLS]

No low and slow here. 4 1/2 year old bull killed in the rut. Butchered four days post kill.

 

[rwc101]

No low and slow here. 4 1/2 year old bull killed in the rut. Butchered four days post kill.

View attachment 164490

 

[rwc101]

None of my elk has been tough, but random roasts cut into steaks and run through a cuber has been especially good.

 

[WyoDoug]

Another thing on tough back straps, diet has a lot to do with that too. Elk, deer, or venison on a lean diet will be tougher and drier than a well fed one.

Another, is you want to slice backstraps (and all steaks) across the grain not with it. If you slice backstraps lengthwise, they might be tough. I slice mine 1/2 inch because wife and I like the thinner cuts.

 

[trb]

Interesting thread...I have had an elk shoulder hanging in my garage for 8 days, about to start processing it now. I am looking forward to comparing it to the rear quarter which I processed as soon as I got home.

Just finished packaging that quarter....that was a disappointing amount of trim.

 

[Whiptail]

Anyone try meat tenderizer? I tried one that has Papain as the active ingredient and have been pretty happy with the results.

 

[wytex]

Had my cow elk hanging for 21 days, conditions were right and she was old a dirt.
Straps are edible but not tender, they aged 14 days. Cutlets are what they became.
Once had a cow elk hanging for a month starting in later Nov. By December fair to say the aging process had stopped as it got below 30 in our garage. Kept great and we took primals off as we ate them.
If possible we leave the hide on for aging, less trim. Sometimes hunting and harvest conditions don't allow that though.

 

[Wrong Burgundy]

Was it less than 48 hours after the kill? Rigor mortis relaxes around 48 hours. I like to keep big muscles on the bone (quarters) so they have something to pull against.


Eileen Clarke wrote a good article


View attachment 164470

a chart I had to memorize in college...

View attachment 164471

Great article and info, thanks for providing this. I like to geek out on the "why" of things, so this is perfect.

 

[WyoDoug]

One think to keep in mind on aging, it should be done with hide on and intact with the skeleton. When a processor trims your meat or you do it yourself, several items are trimmed off and wasted:

• Dry Meat
• Bloodshot
• Dirty Meat
• Hair

Dry meat is the number one cause of loss in final meat product when butchering. As suggested previously, keeping the hide on when aging does help retain moisture. There is a trade-off though and some never really notice it, but the longer the hide is on, the warmer the meat stays and the quality might deteriorate depending on the humidity and temperature the carcass is stored in.

That being said, if you are hanging the carcass in a location out of the sun and at temps below 40 degrees, I would leave the hide on. and I would pull only the tenderloins prior to the aging process.

Is there a benefit to longer aging? Yes there is in my opinion. However, there is a trade-off in terms of more dry meat that has to be trimmed off and wasted. I do not recommend aging past 4-5 days myself due to the drying of the meat. At some point, aging stops and meat simply dries out and this differs from carcass to carcass.