Aging Question

[WhoGeauxDer]

I am lucky enough to have a walk in cooler/freezer at my home. Picked it up when a local grocer was going out of business.
I recently began experimenting with dry aging on my own. I shot a small buck a few weeks ago and while the meat was fantastic after aging I feel like I had to cut away too much "rind". It was extremely leathery and dried out. Unusable to say the least.

- 80 lb spike (dressed weight)
- 9 days of aging in the cooler at 34*
- 9.5 lbs of grind yielded
- 5 lbs of steaks & roasts...etc yielded
- Shanks were too dried out to use
- The hind quarters were so dry that the muscles weren't separating like they should. I basically had to fillet the whole thing instead of separating individual muscle groups.
- Back straps were hell to remove

There is a built in fan that circulates the air in the cooler. I am almost positive it is the humidity is my issue, but I am not sure how to increase without messing up the meat. Any insight would be greatly appreciated as I want to get as much as possible.

 

[Blackdirt Cowboy]

You won’t mess up the meat with added humidity. Do a google search for wet aging beef and you can apply that to wild game meat. It will grow a funky mold on the outside that will have to be cut away and your losses may be just as high as with the dry aging. The simple solution to properly dry aging meat is to have a thick layer of fat protecting the entire carcass. This is a most difficult proposition when talking about wild game as I haven’t found a good way to encourage deer to eat more.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

That's pretty sweet that you have a walk in freezer! The sage advice I got from a very experienced hunter years ago was that the key to aging is the development of the rind on the outside of the meat. That tough leathery outer layer that is what he was referring to. Maybe your cooler was too cold and that rind didn't form like it does in 40 or 50 degree temps like you might have in places like a garage?

 

[Boxerboxer]

A couple things:

1. If you have room, leave the hide on. This will dramatically reduce the amount of meat you lose to drying.

2. Even if you don't leave hide on, anything you're going to grind or slow cook (neck/shanks/etc) can be removed/processed right away if practical to remove it without affecting stuff you DO want to age. It may get some flavor improvement from aging, but the grinding/slow cooking makes the tenderizing effect of aging more or less irrelevant.