The Why and How of Wet Aging Big Game

I believe I will try this out if I fill a tag or two this year.

Danielle Prewett
Oct 3, 2018

Aging wild game is a growing trend in the hunting industry. I’m seeing more and more people trying it out or wanting to learn about the process. There are two main types of aging each with their own pros and cons. Dry aging is considered to be the pure, traditional form of aging because the meat develops intense flavors but requires a strictly controlled environment. For those who aren’t set up with the right equipment, wet aging is a great way to tenderize your meat. This process is really simple but one of the most common questions is “how long should I age it?” I set out to test different aging times for venison loin and compare whether or not the difference of tenderness was worth the time invested.

Before I get into the details, let’s be clear on what aging is and why we want to do it. Animals are athletes which means their muscles are highly developed. Enzymes in the body are constantly building up and breaking down protein and the breakdown process continues even after death. Rigor Mortis takes over for a short period of time after the kill and then calpain, the primary enzyme responsible for this action, begins to break down muscle fiber which results in the tenderization of meat. Therefore aging is sometimes referred to as a decaying process but understand this is not the same as spoiling your meat.

Wet aging is relatively new in the history of aging meat because it exist prior to the development of plastics. Essentially all you do is vacuum seal your meat and leave in the fridge at normal temperature for 7 to 28 days to age. The enzymes are still at work breaking down the tissue and the bag seals out all air to prevent any potential contamination. This is a much easier process and can also be done to previously frozen meat so long as it was cleaned properly and is sealed in a vacuum bag. In fact, many times I take meat from the freezer a week before I plan to cook and allow it to age if I didn’t do it prior to freezing.

This technique is better for lean cuts that have no protective barrier of fat because it eliminates water loss and therefore loss by trimming off dried meat. The downside to wet aging is that the meat does not concentrate and develop the depth of flavor the way dry-aging can because there is no water loss or mold growth. It does however rest in a bag of its own juices and blood, this is what carries the game flavor you are associated with. Because of this, I allow the meat to sit in the fridge unwrapped on top of a cooling rack set inside of a sheet tray for 24 hours prior to sealing. This gives the meat time to dry out just slightly and let excess amount of blood drip into the tray before sealing in the bag. If you shoot a deer or antelope that had been eating sage and are worried about the game flavor, I would recommend this. Every 7 days that you age you can pour out the blood, pat it dry and reseal again, repeating until you are done aging.

Testing Wet-Aging Times
During my research I came across a few standard time frames, 7-14 days seemed to be the typical length in which to wet age. That didn’t seem quite long enough to me. To test different aging times, I took a 6″ portion of the backstrap and let it dry age in the fridge (set at 35 degrees) for 24 hours to let blood run out. Then, I vacuum sealed the loin and left it in the fridge for another 7 days. After a week had passed I opened the bag up, drained any blood that leeched out, cut a 2” filet off, labeled and froze it. I vacuum sealed the leftover loin back in the bag and let it age for another week. Again, I cut a 2” filet off, labeled it 14 day age and froze it. Finally, I re-sealed the last 2” filet and let it age for one more week to reach a 21 day age. By the time I was done I had three 2” filets for testing aging times, a 7, 14 and 21 day age.

When ready to test, I defrosted the other two steaks that had already been aged and I seasoned them with a touch of salt, pepper, garlic and thyme. I decided to cook a la plancha, by searing them in a cast iron on the grill. I tried to cook each to the exact same consistency, medium rare. You can see by the pictures that there isn’t much of a difference in appearance between the aged filets. In fact, there wasn’t a huge difference in flavor either, none of the pieces had any game flavor. I did find a big difference in tenderness between the 7 day and 14 day aged filets, but the 21 day age was melt-in-your mouth tender. It was so delicious. My only regret is not starting with a bigger loin and cutting off another piece to try a 28 day age.

In conclusion, I would recommend a 14 day minimum age and up to 21 or 28 days. Even though this was tested using backstrap, I think this will make a dramatic affect on other primal cuts as well.

One last note to mention before you prepare to age any animal is that proper field care is imperative! Never age an animal that was gut shot and not cleaned properly or shot in high temperatures and not cooled down rapidly. Always make sure meat is clean of dirt, hair, debris and remember that the meat is subject to the air around it, keep your fridge clean of odors or rotting foods.

Ann:

Awhh come on!
Everyone KNOW's the best way, especially for antelope is chase 'em clear across the county, gut shoot 'em and find 'em the next day.

That's how many do it.

We've always killed, gutted and skinned cooled down and soon as we could cut and freeze it. No problems at all, never could tell the difference.

Here's another instance: Beef this time. We butchered two 1200# steers. First one was shot as I drove up, bled 2 gallons or so right away. When we got done. Dad shot the 2nd one in the horn cavity, steer panicied of course. I shot it a few minutes later with a .30 carbine Blackhawk pistol. Tom just about cut the head off and didn't get half gallon of blood. We quartered it and I asked why didn't this one bleed?

"You killed it too dead with that damned cannon pistol, blood's in the meat". "make sure my half comes from this one then" "YOU KNOW IT!!" Grilled side by side we couldn't tell any difference in the taste.

They'd been corned the last 4 months.

FISH now: I always kill 'em taking off the hook, put on ice, bait up and cast out again, then skin 'em. I had a few short of the limit of trout one day. Guy next to me had too many on a stringer for hours all belly up. He gave me enough to fill the limit.

Fried together soon after getting home there was no mistaking which was mine or his.

Test that sometime.

George

Haven't tried wet aging game yet. I've done it with a few beef rib roasts and they come out amazingly tender. We usually hang our deer in a walk in cooler for 7-14 days (depending on what day it's shot on, we usually butcher 2 saturdays after), and it absolutely makes a difference in how the meat turns out. I've quick processed one deer and it was a tough little bugger.

Brandon, I too have had disappointment with quick processing of deer. It's why I have not hunted our early season. I raised the topic a little while back here and many of the guys who live in warm country noted that they kept the meat on ice in a cooler for a few days.

When I read the article on wet aging I knew I had to try it. It's cooled down enough now in SW Missouri that I could let a deer hang overnight without a problem but it could not be left for much longer than that.

I tend to put yearling bucks (spikes) in the freezer and leave the does to walk. I am always very happy with the meat quality from young bucks, especially if I can tag them before they get neck-swollen.

If I had the facility to dry age I would certainly do so. I find this method very intriguing and just have to give it a try.

One of the key factors in this piece, is found in the final paragraph. The meat must be chilled "prior" to going into the wet aging process. If the animal is still too warm, it will build up gasses in the bag and defeat the whole purpose.
This is not a quick option to having a normal cooler or cooling facility available. Even if the animal was cut, and the pieces put on ice for a while would be better than doing it hot.

Good point!

Been doing this forever so you’re proving my point contrary to popular belief here in MT
Thanks Ann

I look forward to trying this. Today dawned at 37 degrees. Damn cold for the Ozarks at this point of time but it has me wanting to hunt now.

I worked in a packing house as a kid, and aging beef was pretty standard.

With wild game, you need to make sure that the meat is not contaminated with bacteria before aging.

Some nasty things multiply rapidly if given enough time.

JMO

BH63

Take that wet-aged meat out of the freezer and drop it in a sous vide cooker at 130 degrees for a while, then sear it and you'd fight your Grandmother for it.

I do this with all wild game. As the article states, taste is a achieved relatively quickly, 1 week, however tenderness takes time.
Wild birds I only age 4-6 days, deer 21 days and elk up to 35 days.
There is no need to drain the blood off except for over all "effect". After wet aging, when you open the bag it STINKS. The smell is in the blood though, not the meat. After it goes 3 weeks it does create a greenish slime that just rinses off, I'd guess its some kind of mold.
After doing this you will never eat fresh meat again.
One side not is that if you are hunting in temps below freezing and your meat freezes, it kills the aging processes necessary bacteria.

**edit**
I just noticed the comments on the warm meat building up gases. That is not exactly accurate. If warm meat is placed in plastic bags it will insulate the meat long enough to cause it to spoil.
Hunting in South Tx the days in Dec can be 75-80 degrees. Yesterday, bow season, it was 93 degrees. We will butcher game and throw it directly in a tub of ice and water to cool it down. Realistically you are only getting it down to 50 degrees or so before it goes in the cooler.



Perry

I've been wet aging game meat for years. I take it from the freezer, let it thaw and sit in the fridge for a day or so. Seal it and age it for 7-10 days.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by nopride2:
I've been wet aging game meat for years. I take it from the freezer, let it thaw and sit in the fridge for a day or so. Seal it and age it for 7-10 days.

Dave

While your process does bleed it out, you are losing out on the tenderizing process.
Try not freezing it first.

Perry

Since birth I guess we have always cleaned the animal as soon as possible, hung it up to cool at least overnight, boned it out and wrapped it an froze it..Beef we always aged..The best way to have good eating wild game is shoot young males or females, keep them clean and in the freezer..Im not set up to age as you describe but in our youth at the ranch we hung the skinned animal in the root celler and let it turn black (jerky) on the outside and cut the meat off as needed, that must have given it time to age, but a bunch of young cowboys wouldn't know the difference in meat just quantity as mom used to say..

Today due to a couple of stints in the ole ticker I am supposed to eat no more than 4 ounces of beef a week, I try my best, and the majority of meat I eat today is deer and elk, and I keep the freezer full..I love those Texas hill country whitetail deer, delicate flavor like no other and of course elk is always prime. I shoot only cows these days, and mostly does but usually at least one buck if I can find a really big boy.

Good point, Ray. I generally hunt for spike bucks for meat and try to get one in archery season before they feel the rut. I've never been disappointed with the tenderness of a young buck who's neck has not swelled yet.

While such animals are always nice and tender I have always thought aged meat has a much better flavor. I still am very curious on this wet aging process. It makes a bit of sense when I think about it.

Ageing is easier in cold climes..Our seasons in Idaho are in Oct. and can be 50 to 80 degrees sometimes, They set the season early to miss the rut as the percentage of kills during the rut is up in the 90% Ive beem told..I know it was much higher in the early 80s as the hunting was in mid Nov. and the trophy bucks were easy..We could hang a deer or elk in the garage or barn until May and eat off of it as we wished.