Thread: How long do you age venison before freezing?

I shot a fallow Thursday 30th, hung it for two days before boning out to bring home. Thursday 6th I trimmed and vacuum packed, having been refrigerated the whole time. Back in the fridge. I was thinking putting it in the freezer next Thursday. So a total of two weeks to age.
What say you wise and experienced men of the forest?

I would freeze it as soon as you vac pack it. Someone might disagree but ageing in vac packed plastic? I don't see the logic.
Fallow I wouldn't worry to much about aging. The two days you hung it for would be sweet.

Freeze after bagging. Hang or fridge/chill with no plastic on it


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I reckon its more import to trim every bit of sinue and shit off the meat than it is to hang it for x amount of time myself. But I mince backsteaks so I wouldnt trust me

I had a cow processed by a butcher who bagged up all my meat and held back all the bagged steaks to keep in his chiller for a couple of weeks to age. Seemed to make sense.

Animal in good condition 2-3 days is plenty. At this time of year when they are loosing condition I like to hang them 6-10 days with at least a few of those with the skin on.
I haven't tried aging in vac packed bags but have aged bulk steaked venison in the fridge because I didnt get round to bagging it up...lots of blood in the bottom after a couple of days.

hang it till its green. yum. i usually do a week at least in the chiller or a couple days in the shade then a day or 2 in the fridge after that. everyone does it different.

3-4 days hanging is about right. It will last for quite a while in the freezer as well.

I age mine as long as VC will let me leave it in his chiller

I vac pac my steaks and put in fridge til i shoot the next animal.................usually the following week

The last 2 reds weve shot have hung skin on for 2 days in very cold garage then skin off for another day, then been boned out into wire freezer baskets, and left in them for another 3 days in COLD COLD bathroom in bath tub....6 degrees in there most times!!!! venni is tender as. agree re trimming off the "silverskin" makes a huge difference.
during summer keeping meat hung for more than 2 days becomes not viable.

Meat does not age so much, it more rots. Anything will, and so does your precious venison (as does the dead possum on the side of the road). The process of "ageing" is more controlled rotting. Temperature control is our typical method of regulating the rot. The colder the temp, the slower this decay process. By vacuum packing you also control the environment and reduce the moisture loss from the meat. Most commercially process meat is spray chilled for this exact reason. Refrigeration reduces humidity, with the product forced to dehydrate and in turn lose weight ($) and quality. The retention of skin and natural membranes certainly reduces moisture loss and is recommended. Ageing allows natural bacterial processes to break down the tissues which in turn makes the meat more tender eating.
So to answer your question, the time ageing will be dependant on the animal and the circumstances of its demise. A whole carcass can benefit from a reasonable hang time where as cuts of meat may suffer too long in chilled and uncovered state. I don't find fallow require a great length of time to "age" but the time frame you have used would be fine.
FYI I find smaller animals like Fallow and Sika are best left complete and allowed to set as a complete carcass where possible. Especially the back steaks. If removed I find they will shrink and can be less than best eating.

Awesome mate. Thanks for the in depth explanation. For me with the effort involved in acquiring the animal I want the meat to be at its optimum when I serve it up. Appreciate the advice from everyone.

Originally Posted by johnino

Awesome mate. Thanks for the in depth explanation. For me with the effort involved in acquiring the anal I want the meat to be at its optimum when I serve it up. Appreciate the advice from everyone.

Best typo ever right there.

Oh f@$k