28 day wet aged venison

[ThickPines]

A plastic drain box designed for holding food.
Something similar to this:

Vollrath 1511-C80 Traex® Color Mate™ Drain Box Perforated 20"W X 15"D X 5" Deep

Shop Vollrath 1511-C80 - Traex® Color Mate™ Drain Box, Perforated, 20"W X 15"D X 5" Deep

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I hope that link works. I have two sets, one I use for backstraps and tenders, one i use for everything else.

Thanks, I may give it a try this season, if I can spare the fridge space. Do you have to trim off any dried meat once you’re done with your aging?

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Nothing more than what i would trim off anyway when i do the final process and remove all the silverskiin and fat.

I am pretty generous in what i take off though, would rather something good to eat than save a few ounces of meat over the whole deer.

You do not typically get a panicle with wet aging that you get with dry aging.

 

[ThickPines]

I am pretty generous in what i take off though, would rather something good to eat than save a few ounces of meat over the whole deer.

Same here. Thanks for the tips

 

[ThickPines]

Fwiw, I keep my whitetail (and everything else for that matter) in an ice chest with water and ice for 7-10 days before processing. I do not drain the water unless I need the space for more ice. I have done this for 20 years. I have zero issues of any kind and I prefer my deer meat over everyone else's I have had. People love to talk about how the meat gets all Grey and washed out if you soak it. It does not. The very exterior will but osmosis will make it all uniform and red again after it is removed.

Attached is a picture of some back strap aged as I described, beside some beef we were given. The beef is on the top!

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This is about how mine turns out, too. Although I usually don’t go quite as long as you

 

[WoodBow]

This is about how mine turns out, too. Although I usually don’t go quite as long as you

Mine is generally due to laziness and procrastination. And the fact that I tend to kill stuff on the weekend, work all week, and then don't have time to mess with it again until the following weekend.....and then maybe procrastinate a few more days.

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[CMF]

The dry aging process allows for some extra flavor to be added for sure, but typically wet aged meat doesn't have any extra flavors like dry aging will. I will try to do some wet aging next year with some herbs or something to try and get a decent flavor infusion when I have processed the meat down and sealed it for time in the fridge.

I agree, I've done the 28 days and some a few days longer with both deer and elk.
It's noticeably more tender, and no noticeable flavor change.
It doesn't need any more trimming than you would normally do on silver skin.
I usually vac mine as soon as I put meat away, which could be 1-5 days. It's usually in ice chest in game bags and/or trash bags and I try to prevent water from touching the meat.

Does the meat start to turn brown when you leave it that long?

I haven't seen it happen.

This process starts with a dry piece of meat, but vac sealed until all air is out. The bags will fill with blood over time, and I've heard to drain it off at 2 weeks, but I never have. As long as there isn't air it's hard for bacteria to grow. I've never measured my fridge temp, but our recent one shows 37.

This works great for us traveling long spans in an RV with limited freezer room. We'll eat on it as we travel and whatever is left when we get home can go in the freezer.

 

[Short Track]

Does the meat start to turn brown when you leave it that long?

I have seen that after 10 days, and it does look nasty. But I have never gotten sick, or anything bad. It just gets more tender.

I just defrosted a roast, which is a tougher cut of this bull Elk. I cut it into 1" thick steaks and will leave it for 28 days as a test. I have never gone more than 10 days, but you guys have me curious...

 

[Texasbuckeye]

When i had some elk meat (should get more this fall) we used the Instant Pot and it would end up so tender. My wife really enjoyed the elk meat, she has been “eh” on venison i think mainly because she would see deer on our place and know what it was we were shooting. But it took very little convincing to get her hooked to elk.

I did not use this wet aging method for elk. Might have to give it some run this fall.

 

[ColPenguin]

Although I have never tried it...I'm hesitant to use water & ice, because water is known to breed bacteria.
I'm happy with olive oil and seasoning.

Botulism on raw garlic can flourish in an anaerobic solution like oil. It's not inherently a problem mixing water, or ice, and meat.

Of course people should be cognizant of the quality of water and maybe not use untreated dirty wallow or creek water to soak or brine their meat.

Bacteria from water will not penetrate whole muscle, it's a surface concern unless it's going to the grinder. Adding some salt to clean, well or municipal water, or even ice from a commercial vendor and then aging or brining meat is very low risk food safety wise. It shouldn't even be a concern if one cooks the meat after the aging process.

Rinsing meat can cross-contaminate other surfaces. Commercially processed poultry presents a big risk for salmonella cross contamination. This is probably a more common mishandling, taking surface bacteria already on the meat and spreading around the kitchen.

Food safety seems like a big blind spot for hunters, in general. Everyone processing their own meat would be well served by having a better than casual understanding of safe food handling, processing, and cooking.

Ground meat is less sanitary because surface bacteria is distributed throughout the end product. There are additional safety precautions involved with making and cooking fresh and cured sausages, or just burger.

 

[Short Track]

I just completed a 32 day Olive Oil soak in the fridge. Spices & Olive oil. Elk round steak. Yes the round steak was more tender, where as a typical round steak is impossible to eat on the grill.

The meat was dark brown. As far as taste, I'm not impressed. no odor, but the taste was a bit off. Kind of like a twang. Maybe just starting to go bad. I didn't get sick, but not sure I would do 30 days again. The taste is just not there.

I have 1 small piece left to grill. If it gets more slimy than yesterday, I may trash it.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Recently I have been leaving meat marinate in fridge. Soaking in olive oil for a week plus. Sometimes 10 days. While my wife thinks I'm nuts, the meat gets more & more tender. Until it melts in your mouth. Even the tough cuts like a roast, and round steaks. Just a zip lock bag filled with olive oil. Not sure if this equates to wet aging, but it sure works for me. Tonight I ate a piece after a 12-hour olive oil marinade, and it was still tough to eat. I'm convinced 1 week is minimum olive oil soak for tender meat is best.

Doesn't the olive oil solidify in fridge?

 

[CMF]

I just completed a 32 day Olive Oil soak in the fridge. Spices & Olive oil. Elk round steak. Yes the round steak was more tender, where as a typical round steak is impossible to eat on the grill.

I've never done oil, just dried mine off and vac sealed it, eventually some blood was in th ebag, but no air.

Was the meat coated, submerged, or vacuum-sealed in the oil?

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Yeah olive oil is probably not the best option.

Woth vacuum sealer, you can out the spices right in the bag and just seal. There is no need for oil.

 

[Short Track]

Doesn't the olive oil solidify in fridge?

Yes it does, but the meat is still soaking. That's what I find... I just use a zip lock bag. and alot of olive oil. So it's generally covered.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Dude…

He lost me there too. If I cook wild game and it’s medium well I gave myself 3 lashes.l

 

[CMF]

Yes it does, but the meat is still soaking. That's what I find... I just use a zip lock bag. and alot of olive oil. So it's generally covered.

Not sealing and leaving it exposed to air may be your problem. I'm not sure coating it with olive oil does anything to inhibit bacteria growth, but I don't know for sure.
The point of the vac seal is to eliminate air(oxygen), which bacteria require to spoil the meat.

 

[Short Track]

I just ate Elk after 6 weeks in the fridge. Olive oil bath. I will NOT be doing it again. I didn't get sick, but the meat had an off taste. My family thought I was nuts... Just goes to show food doesn't spoil that fast.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

I just ate Elk after 6 weeks in the fridge. Olive oil bath. I will NOT be doing it again. I didn't get sick, but the meat had an off taste. My family thought I was nuts... Just goes to show food doesn't spoil that fast.

Yeah the olive oil bath is definitely not what i mean when i talk about wet aging. I have never seen anyone talk about aging in olive oil, until this thread came up. Certainly not a culinary method…not sure where it came from.

Short track, care to share where you came up with that plan?

 

[Short Track]

Yeah the olive oil bath is definitely not what i mean when i talk about wet aging. I have never seen anyone talk about aging in olive oil, until this thread came up. Certainly not a culinary method…not sure where it came from.

Short track, care to share where you came up with that plan?

I created a new culinary plan. and I use it at least once a week. Probably more. I put all my seasoning on the meat, in a zip lock bag, and then drown it in olive oil. Goes in the fridge for days, usually 3-4 days. Then I tried longer on tough cuts such as round steaks or even roasts, that I don't want to crock pot. Usually a week at most, then as I started reading about aging, the week turned into 2 weeks, then a month, and finally 6 weeks. Surprisingly the meat doesn't go bad, but I never got sick..

 

[Mikido]

I’m struggling. I shot a bull elk last October. The fillets and round were fantastic, like beef. Ate them fresh.

Since then, I’ve tried back strap and other rump cuts, which have sat 6+ months frozen, and came up short. Tough and odd flavor. Tried the wet age from this thread, no improvement.

My game bag, transport home, cut up at home, and vacuum seal is on point. Very clean and very tight.

Even the ground meat tasted off this past weekend.

Any insight?