Wait a couple days or debone as quick as possible?

[CoStick]

People overthink it, cool it quick and keep it clean.

 

[Stalker69]

Bone sour does not come from hanging a properly cooled animal carcass for 3 weeks in a walk in cooler. It comes from not properly cooling in the field. For example, not finding the animal soon enough, gutting but leaving the hide on, skinning and gutting but leaving it as a whole carcass. It starts on the inside from body heat not being released. The bone and blood spoil and it transfers that through the meat.
There is a big difference in properly aged meat and has nothing to do with any kind of fat content on or in the meat. The fat on the outside of a carcass protects it from drying out. The marbling on the inside gives it flavor. The naturally occurring enzymes in the meat are what is breaking down the muscle fibers.

We have received quite a few animals from customers over the years that the meat started to sour around the bone. What they did or didn't do in the field I have no clue. They always tell you it was well taken care of.. But the animals that are deboned and cooled or better yet frozen , we receive we have not had an issue with, the meat or the customer.

 

[NoWiser]

I get the bones out right away. And get the meat frozen ASAP.

I think this is really bad advice. If you are grinding everything, it’s fine. If you want cuts of meat you can actually chew, this is not at all what you want to do.

In addition, I think a lot of people equate “freeze ASAP” to throwing the meat straight into a freezer. That a sure-fire way to get your meat to spoil.

 

[Stalker69]

By the time we pack it out and get it to the freezer, it’s like 24-72 hours usually, some times less some times more. And have not noticed one bit of difference in “ how long it hung” And we have no issue with tough or bad tasting meat, We cut steaks, roasts, stew meat, and grind, and how is the meat going to spoil if you put it directly in the freezer, come on man PYHO. We process a lot of meat each year, beef ( which we do hang) pork ( domestic and feral) deer, elk and normally a few antelope. We have very few complaints, the complaints we do have are normally they expected more meat, but they don’t take care of it in the field. Trimming and cutting “ bad” meat out ( bullet damage, bone particles, dirt, dry meat, some times spoilage, on some you lose quite a bit of once “ edible” meat. That you don’t lose by getting it cooled down and then frozen. I have nevvvvvver ever seen a single piece of meat spoil that is frozen, no way. Freezer burn yes, spoil no ! Only way i have seen it spoil in a freezer, is if the freezer gets unplugged or quits working and the meat spoils, by the time they find it. That happens a lot. I am not saying dry aging or hanging meat to cool is bad thing, it’s just a lot of people over do it, or the temps are to high to hang but they don’t know what else to do. Getting the meat broken down into smaller pieces will cool the meat quicker, period. If it’s freezing or temp are near freezing then of course it’s not a concern, but that’s not normally the case here especially archery and black powder season. Heck even into late rifle sometimes the temps are no we’re near cold enough to be left hanging out side for a long time. And most people do not have walk in coolers to hang it in either. We get them in the back of pick ups wrapped in black plastic. Hide still on many, even a few that haven’t been gutted, bullet holes all over them, back of the truck uncovered while they drove out down a dusty dirt road “ but they let the them hang( age) ” before bringing them to us, so they think they did the right thing. There’s far more to it.

 

[gelton]

I hate dealing with the dry "scab" covering the meat regardless whether it is deboned or not. Talk about meat loss. So I don't dry age at all either way.

Not sure if it's because this is the first cow elk I have ever hung to dry age or not but it's the best elk I have ever had...definitely worth any meat loss which was actually fairly minimal but it did take some time to do.

 

[NoWiser]

By the time we pack it out and get it to the freezer, it’s like 24-72 hours usually, some times less some times more. And have not noticed one bit of difference in “ how long it hung” And we have no issue with tough or bad tasting meat, We cut steaks, roasts, stew meat, and grind, and how is the meat going to spoil if you put it directly in the freezer, come on man PYHO. We process a lot of meat each year, beef ( which we do hang) pork ( domestic and feral) deer, elk and normally a few antelope. We have very few complaints, the complaints we do have are normally they expected more meat, but they don’t take care of it in the field. Trimming and cutting “ bad” meat out ( bullet damage, bone particles, dirt, dry meat, some times spoilage, on some you lose quite a bit of once “ edible” meat. That you don’t lose by getting it cooled down and then frozen. I have nevvvvvver ever seen a single piece of meat spoil that is frozen, no way. Freezer burn yes, spoil no ! Only way i have seen it spoil in a freezer, is if the freezer gets unplugged or quits working and the meat spoils, by the time they find it. That happens a lot.

I said putting meat (specifically large chunks) straight into a freezer is a great way to spoil it. That’s a fact. I never said frozen meat will spoil.

Meat aging for 1-3 days is much different than meat aged 2-3 weeks. I don’t doubt that you can’t tell a difference if that’s your experience. We can tell a difference when we age our deer and elk, and it’s significant. The worst elk I ever ate was a cow I shot too far from the road to pack out that night. By the next morning the quarters were froze solid. It tasted fine, but Chuck Norris himself couldn’t have chewed that thing. Compare that to the cow I shot this year and aged 3 weeks. I can practically cut it with a spoon and the taste is every bit as good. Both were double lung shot and died within seconds. We’ve aged every animal we’ve shot for the last 4 years and the difference is remarkable.

 

[Jbehredt]

In a perfect world I’m hanging it for at least a week, better if I can go two, on the bone.

 

[butcherboy]

Bone sour meat will always occur in the field with improperly cooled meat. Meaning, leaving the hide on an elk, not gutting and leaving the hide on, leaving overnight with hide and guts in, leaving overnight with the hide on. The body heat needs to leave that carcass. If it is bone sour when the animal is placed into a cooler then it will still spread but at a slower pace. Placed into a freezer it will freeze in be in the same state as when it was frozen. Placing hot meat directly into a freezer is a bad idea the same can be said for placing hot meat into a cooler with ice and closing the lid. The heat has no where to go in that cooler. It’s always best to cool the meat before placing it into a cooler with ice.

I’ve processed thousands of WG animals in the past 30 years and have seen it all. Many I can’t forget and want to. Thrown away many full carcasses because of the reasons I mentioned earlier. I’ve tried to teach hunters about proper meat care over the years. Some follow it and others don’t and the difference is incredible.

I don’t miss processing WG at all. We will finish out the year at about 600 beef and 1,000 hogs. Lambs and goats will be around a few hundred.

 

[KMSbuck]

So, do you get to processing ASAP or let it hang a couple days 40-50 deg?

I have found the meat to be much more tender and generally taste better to let it hang 2-3 days before processing, bone in, even at those temperatures.

 

[Stalker69]

Some meat should not be aged
Aging usually improves tenderness, but not all meat should be aged. Meat specialists do not recom- mend aging carcasses with little or no fat cover be- cause they lose moisture rapidly, resulting in exces- sive weight loss and surface discoloration. In addi- tion, lean meat is susceptible to deterioration through microbial growth, and slime formed by bacteria and mold growth must then be trimmed.
Carcasses that are ground or made into salami, frankfurters, or other sausages do not need to be aged because grinding or chopping tenderizes meat. In addition, meat for jerky should not be aged. At least one case of food poisoning resulted when jerky was made from deer aged at 60oF.
Pork carcasses are not aged because the animals are young when slaughtered and the meat is naturally

 

[Stalker69]

Recommended aging times
Antelope carcasses should be cut and wrapped for the freezer within three days of harvest. This short aging period helps prevent the “liver-like” or “mushy” texture often found in antelope meat.
Deer, sheep, goat, cow elk, and cow moose car- casses should be cut approximately seven days after harvest. If they have been held at higher tempera- tures (above 40°F) the meat should be cut before seven days of aging are completed.
Under ideal conditions, bull elk and bull moose carcasses should be cut after a 14-day aging period at 34 to 37°F. However, these carcasses are sel- dom handled under ideal conditions. Slow chilled carcasses and carcasses that have been in camp for a few days require less aging.
The recommended aging periods are sufficient for tenderness and flavor development in most game carcasses. Aging is not needed if carcasses are to be ground, cured, or made into jerky or sausage. In addition, most game meat recipes utilize moist- heat cooking methods that tenderize the meat and shorten the needed aging period.
Do not age any game carcass if the animal was har- vested during warm weather and not chilled rap- idly, if the animal was severely stressed prior to har- vest, if gunshot areas are extensive, or if the animal was under one year of age. Animals severely stressed from running long distances or from being wounded and trailed several hours prior to the kill should not be aged because energy sources that are

 

[Stalker69]

normally converted to lactic acid in the muscle are used up during stress.
Spoilage bacteria grow much faster if the level of lactic acid in the muscle is low. Therefore, meat from stressed animals will often sour if the meat is aged. Meat sours rapidly if gunshot areas are ex- tensive. The Ph of blood is optimal for bacterial growth, and extensive gunshot areas have greater bacterial contamination from dirt and hair.
Aging periods longer than those recommended are often accompanied by extensive bacterial growth, drying, and discoloration of the meat. Reducing the aging period limits bacterial growth on the car- cass. At present, there does not appear to be any evidence that there is a health risk in eating prop- erly prepared game meat, but when proper aging and cooking procedures are ignored, food-borne illnesses can occur. Therefore, adequate precau- tions with regard to aging time and aging tempera-