Let's get back on the hunting topic.

This post is prompted by another post about a guys Elk being to tough to eat.

The tenderness of meat is, by and large, not a factor of age. It is possible to have a very tender old buck or bull of any specie.

In the same respect, a young animal will not in any way guarantee you a good, tender steak if you do not take care of it in the correct manner.

Collegen is the connective tissue that needs to be broken down in order to have "tender meat". This takes time, thus the process of aging a deer/Elk.

As soon as an animal dies this starts. The lactose and naturally occuring enzymes in the animal start to naturally break down the collegen (connective tissue). At a constant 40 deg, it should take about 1 week for a deer to age, 2-3 weeks for a big Elk. Do not confuse this with 40 deg as an average temperature as hot weather can ruin your animal if you do not pay close attention. Hang the game until a light mold starts to form around the outside, you will usually find it around the ribcage where you cut it open for field dressing. Wash the mold off with a 10% vinegar and water solution, or just cut it off. Butcher immediately.

A scared or running deer/Elk will have built up lactic acid in his muscles. Yep, you guessed it, the more lactic acid, the less lactose to break down the muscle fiber, the tougher the meat.

Adrenylin will also taint the meats flavor to a point at which I do not enjoy venison from a deer that has been chased or wounded or in any other way frightened. I am not sure what effect adrenylin will have on tenderness. I assume it can not be good.

Now, if your animal is allowed to freeze before rigor mortis sets in, you will experience another toughening phenomenon called cold shortening. This "shortens" or toughens the individual muscle cells and no amount of aging is going to reverse this. You must do all you can to keep your game from freezing shortly after his death. Wrap it in a sleeping bag or tarp or transport it in your car or truck.

Now, I know this is not feasable sometimes, so then you will just have to deal with it. But at least you should know why your Elk chews like your truck tire.

I am not a butcher, but I have learned quite a bit about this subject and have coppied some of this information from an article by a guy named Sil Strung and Eileen Clark It was published in "Game Journal" a while back.

Give credit where credit is due. Thanks Sil & Eileen.

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Wendell Reich
Hunter's Quest International

good post, Buffalobwana...

If you want more information about stuff like this, there is a book called "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGhee. It's all about the chemistry aspect of cooking, and a large portion of it is devoted to meat. It's not a cookbook or specificly targeted to game, it involves everything from soup to nuts...

Thanks for the post Wendell. Good info. My buddy just got back from the Peninsula. He took a couple of caribou during the late winter hunt and it's really cold over there during this time of year. I just had some of the steaks for supper and they were fork tender. Some of the meat froze right away after dressing. This meat was tenderized with a gadget he bought from Cabela's. The part that did not freeze was hung for a week,as it's not as cold here, and it was really nice also without the tenderizing. Proper handling always makes the difference.
Next year, that's a trip Ill have to do.

Great post buff! I emailed it to four of my hunting buddys.

Doug

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NRA Life member

Interesting post, but sometimes not as clear cut as suggested I fear. Being in the UK, we get a chance to stalk year around and I take around 15-20 beasts a year of various species mostly muntjac, roe, fallow and red deer. My stalking partner takes about the same, maybe a few more, but also "culls" on a local deer park and takes people out stalking as what you guys would term a guide. We process a large number of these ourselves from shot to table for our own use as well as for friends and family.

Generally our beasts are hung for a least 48 hours, usually nearer a week and sometimes as long as two to three weeks. The carcasses are generally kept in the skin to prevent "drying out" (a particular problem with Roe) until they are ready to be butchered. If the weather dictates, they are stored in a proper chiller at just above freezing, otherwise they are hung in fly/vermin proof conditions.

From our own observations, I would say that it quite difficult to predict toughness/meat quality sometimes as there are so many factors involved. I can honestly say that I have never eaten any venison from deer taken by myself or my buddy which was in any way tough. I have eaten tough venison in restaurants and actually wondered how they managed to get it like that!

While culling, my friend has shot Fallow bucks in the rut who's carcass stank so badly he would not even consider putting it into the food chain, while other fallow bucks taken at a similar time have been quite alright. The same goes for beasts which for one reason or another, have been "pumped up" before the shot�I have read that they should be tough but can never say I have experienced it to the point I have noticed. As to the length of time to hang, again I have never noticed much difference between 2 days and 2 weeks providing the beast was hung in suitable conditions. I will say we never hang to the point of finding mould; to me that is allowing decomposition to set in a bit far. We did have a beast hanging in the chiller for nearly three weeks and that was noticeable tastier but whether that was as a direct result from the extended hanging I can't say. I often wonder just how much "toughness" in venison can be attributed to poor butchering, inappropriate selection of joints or just badcooking??
Anyway, here in the UK, one thing we generally do not have to deal with is very hot weather conditions. I have read on these boards that some hunters in places such as Texas where deer hunting is often carried out in hot weather basically resort to skining & butchering their deer as soon as practical after the shot, and then store the quarters in cool boxes full of ice until they get home. I would be interested to hear if they notice any difference in the venison compared to the more traditional method of hanging�

[This message has been edited by Pete E (edited 03-20-2002).]