Budget Dry Aging?

[b73]

Someone else mentioned “coolbot”. Check it out!!! You can make your own walk in cooler with a window unit a/c. They’ve been around a while. It be really nice to have say a 5x7 walk in.


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[Jtaylor]

All these are good suggestions. Prepare for venison steaks that taste better than a beef ribeye!

 

[NikoTheBowHunter]

This is the beauty of living in northern Michigan. I skin 'em and let hang in the back garage with the windows open. Generally have to thaw 'em out to finish butchering by the time I get around to it.

This is what my buddy does with his here in WI.

 

[wayne r]

you can get dry age bags you vacuum seal then pop in the fridge as normal no loss of outer meat just tasty dry aged ready to what you want, you can also trail your aging process to see what you like for your best results,regards wayne

 

[Vtbow]

We hang deer to age for at least 4 days prior to butchering. Sometimes it then gets quartered and thrown in the fridge for another few.

 

[mihunter101]

For those using an upright freezer, are you removing the shelves to hang the deer?

 

[Apex7]

I could be wrong but wouldn't a regular refrigerator work better than a freezer. I thought dry aging you want the temp above freezing. When I do mine I use my refrigerator .

 

[dalton916]

I wrap my back straps in cling wrap and toss em in the fridge for at least 21 days and have gone to 28. Amazing how good it is.

 

[Nutterbuster]

I wrap my back straps in cling wrap and toss em in the fridge for at least 21 days and have gone to 28. Amazing how good it is.

That might be the ticket. Do they dry out? Or stay moist and edible without developing bark that needs to be trimmed?

 

[NikoTheBowHunter]

I wrap my back straps in cling wrap and toss em in the fridge for at least 21 days and have gone to 28. Amazing how good it is.

With back straps already being tender, why the additional aging? Does it really make them all that much better? Serious question, newbie asking.

 

[Majorho]

Hi all,

Wanted to update and share my dry age experiment results.
I was worried it would rot and be wasted when starting this experiment. I dry aged one rear hock from my deer last month for 29 days.
It started to develop some minor mold (white=ok, green/blue/black=bad ) which weirded me out a little, but will push the envelop more next time, maybe 45 or 60 days. It does has a subtle fragrant nuttiness.
Other than trimming off the outer crust it seemed very easy to handle and dissect. i.e. the tendons and silverskin were dried and easily trimmed and sliced off.
The meat does seem much more tender, I was able to push my thumb through a cube of meat and it felt comparable to backstrap or maybe even tenderloin.
Pic #4 looks just like prosciutto!
Will taste test later this week, wifey had the meals prepared/planned this weekend already.

 

[dalton916]

That might be the ticket. Do they dry out? Or stay moist and edible without developing bark that needs to be trimmed?

They were fine and I didn’t have to trim anything.

 

[dalton916]

With back straps already being tender, why the additional aging? Does it really make them all that much better? Serious question, newbie asking.

Yes, they are already tender, but after aging we are talking about a whole new level of tender.

 

[GCTerpfan]

They were fine and I didn’t have to trim anything.

Last year I vacuum sealed all of my cuts and 'wet aged' them in the fridge anywhere between 14 and 21 days before I froze them. All summer my family was raving about how good the deer we were eating was. This year I kind of forgot that I did that and the first deer I cut up I just froze immediately. My family was quick to ask me why the deer this year didn't taste as good. I was sure to wet age my second deer this year but, due to needing refrigerator space I only let it age 7 days. It's better then the first deer this year but, not as good as the deer last year.

 

[7mmremmag]

I wet age, but you can dry age in the fridge with umai bags.