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Aging Big Game Meat - Rigor Mortis

23K views 59 replies 31 participants last post by  wyogoob 
#1 ·
You do what ya gotta do to get a big game animal in the freezer. And how the animal is cared before getting cut and wrapped is a balance between how far it is from the road, up or downhill, the temperature, work and family commitments, or even scheduling at the butcher shop.

Sometime after the kill an animal's muscles go into rigor mortis, a muscle contraction that lasts 24 hours or so. If you butcher your deer or elk during that period it's gonna be tough. If the animal gets frozen hanging on the meat pole at camp during rigor mortis chances are it's goiung to take longer to age it than if it wasn't frozen up front.

For one reason or another I have cut and wrapped elk, including a calf, as fast as I could and they ended up being tough. Now I'm thinking I cut them up during rigor mortis.

Here's a quote from a 2006 Field and Steam magazine article:

"First, the muscles go into rigor mortis, a stiffening lasting at most 24 hours. Butchering a deer during rigor mortis is one of the worst things you can do."

see: http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/ ... -hang-time
 
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#2 ·
This is one of the major reasons why meat from the processor does not produce the same results as meat cut at home. On many occaisions when you take an animal into the processor it is straight to the freezer... When the processor has enough time to cut the animal up and seperate bone from meat the animal is frozen on or around the rigor mortis stage.

After keeping my meat refrigerated last year for a couple of days I will never send another animal to the processor. It is way better if home butchered the right way.
 
#3 ·
Good info! I try to hang my animals, but if it's hot and I can't hang my animal I typically bone it out, put the meat in bags and place it in the bottom of the refrigerator (much to my wife's surprise and dismay) for 3 days to a week. I've had to cut a few up where that wasn't an option and they seemed tough as well. That's why Utah should move their rifle elk hunts into late october - so we can hang the trophy bulls, and have nice tender meat. :lol:
 
#4 ·
Yeah, good points fellas.

Wild game butcher shops cater to out-of-staters, and that's good. They usually work their butts off to make sure you get your meat packaged so you can make your trip back home. But many an animal is cut up when they are in rigor mortis, when the muscles are contracted, resulting in some pretty tough meat.
 
#5 ·
I used to "age" my meat a short time... I no longer do due to bacteria growth which affects taste. I cut up my meat as fast as I can and ever since I've done so its been a very noticable improvement in taste and texture. To age meat properly you need to keep it at around 37 degrees for any length of time to keep bacteria growth at a minimum. If you have access to a cold locker then great, have at it... but Joe Hunter hanging his deer in the garage for a few days? He is doing more harm than good.

Cut your steaks against the grain too, it will help with toughness.


-DallanC
 
#6 ·
DallanC said:
I used to "age" my meat a short time... I no longer do due to bacteria growth which affects taste. I cut up my meat as fast as I can and ever since I've done so its been a very noticable improvement in taste and texture. To age meat properly you need to keep it at around 37 degrees for any length of time to keep bacteria growth at a minimum. If you have access to a cold locker then great, have at it... but Joe Hunter hanging his deer in the garage for a few days? He is doing more harm than good.

Cut your steaks against the grain too, it will help with toughness.

-DallanC
Not exactly. There's good bacteria and bad bacteria. And there's nothing wrong with hanging meat in a garage for a few days, or longer even, following a few precautions of course. Some of the most expensive meat on the planet is aged at room temperature.

Geeze, I have to buy bacteria for my wild game:
 
#7 ·
Should I, or shouldn't I...ok I will

Not true (except for the rigor mortis part). Aging meat isn't a process of getting past the rigor mortis stage, it is in fact a contolled rot or decay. The enzymes in the meat tissue begin to break down the muscle fiber making it softer (more tender). Not all meat processors throw it into the freezer either, that is merely a speculation and generalization. Aging meat is a personal choice, some do it, some don't. A lot of how the animal turns out is how hard the animal dies. Quick deaths usually result in better tasting table fair. The other factor is how well the hunters take care of their animal in the field and transport. Many, many hunters expect the processor to wave a magic wand and turn nastiness into something wonderful. Don't blame them for your lack of paying attention, and yes, some dirt and leaves will get on it but there is no excuse to making it look like it was drug through a mud hole.

And bacteria - well, sorry. It comes from you. The animal does not have bacteria inside it within it's muscle tissue. The hunter always puts it there, sorry, that's how it is.

These are the facts and they are undisputable. Condemn if you wish, or you can call any reputable meat processor and ask them (custom or grocery store it doesn't matter), better yet, ask someone in micro biology...
 
#9 ·
I agree with high desert elk if you take care of your deer/elk the better it will be. Number one for me is cooling it down and keeping it clean. I cut it up as soon as i can.
 
#10 ·
High Desert Elk said:
Should I, or shouldn't I...ok I will

Not true (except for the rigor mortis part). Aging meat isn't a process of getting past the rigor mortis stage, it is in fact a contolled rot or decay. The enzymes in the meat tissue begin to break down the muscle fiber making it softer (more tender). Not all meat processors throw it into the freezer either, that is merely a speculation and generalization. Aging meat is a personal choice, some do it, some don't. A lot of how the animal turns out is how hard the animal dies. Quick deaths usually result in better tasting table fair. The other factor is how well the hunters take care of their animal in the field and transport. Many, many hunters expect the processor to wave a magic wand and turn nastiness into something wonderful. Don't blame them for your lack of paying attention, and yes, some dirt and leaves will get on it but there is no excuse to making it look like it was drug through a mud hole.

And bacteria - well, sorry. It comes from you. The animal does not have bacteria inside it within it's muscle tissue. The hunter always puts it there, sorry, that's how it is.

These are the facts and they are undisputable. Condemn if you wish, or you can call any reputable meat processor and ask them (custom or grocery store it doesn't matter), better yet, ask someone in micro biology...
yeah, yeah, yeah, good points. I read the magazine article. Geeze, all you guys went to school. That's not fair.
 
#11 ·
I was raised on a farm. We butchered our own hogs and cattle, and I do all the meat curing stuff, hams, dry-cured meat, so really I do know about the bacteria stuff.

The bacteria I showed in the picture is sprayed on the surface of cured meats and sausages to induce a protective layer of "good" mold.


My next post will be on the advantage or disadvantage of "bleeding out" wild game. :D
 
#12 ·
I let my deer hang for a few days up on the muzzleoader hunt, and then sit in the fridge for another 3 days. and the outside cure layer was black, but when I cut it off, that meat looked amazing and tastes great. I'll age every animal at least for 5 days to a week if I have the option to.
 
#13 ·
wyogoob said:
I was raised on a farm. We butchered our own hogs and cattle, and I do all the meat curing stuff, hams, dry-cured meat, so really I do know about the bacteria stuff.

The bacteria I use is sprayed on the surface of cured meats and sausages to induce a protective layer of "good" mold.

My next post will be on the advantage or disadvantage of "bleeding out" wild game. :D
"Bleeding out"? Isn't that what the 30 cal perferation in lungs does?
 
#14 ·
Wait a minute, I was just looking at my crock of sauerkraut and thinking about good bacteria. There is good bacteria and bad bacteria.

I also have some summer sausage that I just took out of the smoker that has Fermento™ in it. According to the manufacturer Fermento™ is "...lactic acid producing bacteria culture."

More later, I'm gonna have some yogurt. :)
 
#15 ·
Nambaster said:
wyogoob said:
I was raised on a farm. We butchered our own hogs and cattle, and I do all the meat curing stuff, hams, dry-cured meat, so really I do know about the bacteria stuff.

The bacteria I use is sprayed on the surface of cured meats and sausages to induce a protective layer of "good" mold.

My next post will be on the advantage or disadvantage of "bleeding out" wild game. :D
"Bleeding out"? Isn't that what the 30 cal perferation in lungs does?
yeah, yeah :)
 
#16 ·
#17 ·
How you care for the meat from the shot to the plate matters!

I get them gutted as fast as possible, then I skin them and quater them up. I put them in a cooler on ice and keep them there for a week or so. you will need to drain the water off daily as well as add more ice. it ages the meat quite nicely. This year I tried putting a cup of non-seasoned meat trenderizer on top of the meat before dumping the ice on the meat, so far I can't tell it makes a difference.

When I cut up the meat I trim off as much fat and tough conective material as I can, then I either run it thru my tenderizer or cut steaks and then put them in ziplock bags or vac seal it up. If you use ziplock bags push out all the air before you sill them.

Tonight I cooked up the first batch of that big buck I killed and it was awesome tasting. I have 2 more deer aging in the cooler now. I'm gonna eat good this year.
 
#18 ·
DallanC said:
I used to "age" my meat a short time... I no longer do due to bacteria growth which affects taste. I cut up my meat as fast as I can and ever since I've done so its been a very noticable improvement in taste and texture. To age meat properly you need to keep it at around 37 degrees for any length of time to keep bacteria growth at a minimum. If you have access to a cold locker then great, have at it... but Joe Hunter hanging his deer in the garage for a few days? He is doing more harm than good.

Cut your steaks against the grain too, it will help with toughness.

-DallanC
Bull****!!!
 
#20 ·
Elk are grazers they will age like beef, deer are browsers and do not age like beef.Elk should be hung in a cooler 35-37 degrees for the tissues to break down.They should be clean,dry, and have at least 1 to 2 feet of space around them.In my opinion you are hurting your deer to hang it for more than 2 days.
 
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#21 ·
I've had variable results with aging my deer. I usually age my deer a couple days, but the last couple I've cut up had to be done earlier. Generally, the results have been good. I'm not an expert, but it has seemed to me that cooling right after the kill and shortly afterwards is more important for good tasting meat.

One year, many years ago, I needed to leave the hunting camp early to get back to college. I tagged out a nice buck and hung it in the garage once I got home. Dad came home 4 days later and neither of us were able to get to cutting the deer for about a week. The temps were warm. We hoped that it aged nicely, but alas, that deer was the only one of all the deer either Dad or I ever harvested that tasted gamey. The meat wasn't rotten, and we ate it all, but it was not good at all.

Mojo1 said:
When I cut up the meat I trim off as much fat and tough connective material as I can,
IMO, that is the most important factor for good tasting deer. I've seen professionally cut meat rendered virtually inedible by the butcher leaving too much fat on the venison. I don't care for bone-in cuts either with deer.
 
#22 ·
One phrase-- Dry Age. If you have never dry aged an elk or deer back-strap you don't know what you are missing......

-Clean the backstrap.
-Lay the untrimmed backstrap, silver side down, on a cooling rack placed on a cookie sheet.
-Tent the meat with a piece of foil (not tightly wrapped as air needs to circulate).
-Place in the fridge and forget about it for 7-14 days.
-Ignore the wife (or husband) when she asks what are you going to do with that meat?
-Lightly trim the dry crust.
-Cut into steak thickness, then fillet the steaks off the silver.

I have a pair of elk backstraps which are going on 3 weeks. It will be superb! Those expensive steaks a guy buys at Ruth's Chris are all dry aged. Wildgame doesn't have the fat layer to dry age as long as beef, but 2 weeks or so....
 
#23 ·
Catherder said:
I've had variable results with aging my deer. I usually age my deer a couple days, but the last couple I've cut up had to be done earlier. Generally, the results have been good. I'm not an expert, but it has seemed to me that cooling right after the kill and shortly afterwards is more important for good tasting meat.
Mojo1 said:
When I cut up the meat I trim off as much fat and tough connective material as I can,
IMO, that is the most important factor for good tasting deer. I've seen professionally cut meat rendered virtually inedible by the butcher leaving too much fat on the venison. I don't care for bone-in cuts either with deer.
+1

I also am no expert at taking care of deer or elk meat, but to me, cooling and removing all the bones and excess fat/tissue from the red meat will result in the best tasting meat.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Good bacteria, Lactobacillius Sakei, can be found naturally in meat and fish:
http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php ... llus_sakei
If you meat and fish doesn't have enough Lactobacillius bacteria you can buy it from the sausage supply houses under the BactoFerm F-RM-52.

I also use good bacterias, Pediococcus Acidilactici, Lactobacillius Curvatus, Staphylococcus Xylosis all mixed together to make an additive called SafePro™ F-LC. I think that SafePro™ F-LC bacteria trumps the bacteria that jumps off of hunting shoes and wading shoes hung next to meat that you have hanging. (just a guess, I have neither a microscope or a formal education)


Then for that Europen flare in swinging meat who can do without everyone's favorite, another bacteria found in red meat, Pediococcus pentosaceus, trade name BactoFerm T-SPX. Those little buggers need a lot of water and help dry out meat that's too wet. I use it for dry sausage, sausage that is not cooked, even meat that is cured at room temperature over a long period of time.

Those are a few good bacteria. There are many bad ones too, some that will kill you. Know what you're doing or ask someone that does. Learn from your successes and failures. Always keep meat clean and cool.
 
#26 ·
This is a good thread, worth revisiting.

I hung my elk in a garage for 8 days, 30° to 50°. It was fine. But I've had elk and a moose go bad in less than 12 hours.
 
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