A question for you hunters/gatherers

[peggy]

So, I've been enjoying 'Monarch of the Glen' on roku this last week and noticed something I've seen/wondered about before. In this show, and other 'castle' type settings, you always see dead animals hanging in the kitchen. Mostly birds and rabbits. These aren't smoked meats, or prepared meats, but fully feathered and furred carcasses.
So my question is this. Is this 'true' to process, or just some tv thing. What I mean is, I realize when the hunter comes in with game, they have to hang it somewhere until the cook gets around to it, but just how long can they hang it? Surely they won't eat all 5 pheasants and 3 rabbits hanging in the pantry that evening. I understand a castle, probably stone, (and in cool England) is going to be cooler, but there must be an expiration time somewhere there.
Or maybe you are SUPPOSED to hang it. Maybe it NEEDS to be hung for a bit. I really don't know as I don't hunt. But I'm curious. We refrigerate so much more in the states than needs to be refrigerated (cheese, ghee, etc..) I wondered if dead game is the same.
I know there are hunters here who probably know the answer to this.:)

[nswef]

I LOVE Monarch of the Glen. Around here deer are hung for a few days before completely butchering.

[IshbelRobertson]

Ermmmm... That'd be SCOTLAND, not England...!

All game requires to be 'hung'. Most of my game is delivered to my door prepared and 'hung'. The deer, salmon and trout my husband dresses and/or hangs before I have to do anything with it.

[Dhiana]

In modern day America that's what backyard swing sets are for, hanging the deer carcass :)

[peggy]

Ermmmm... That'd be SCOTLAND, not England...!

All game requires to be 'hung'. Most of my game is delivered to my door prepared and 'hung'. The deer, salmon and trout my husband dresses and/or hangs before I have to do anything with it.

LOL You're right. It is Scotland. And I need to turn up the volume a click or two to get through the accent. But my question is, HOW long does/can it hang? When your husband shoots a bird, let's say, how long can you hang it before it needs to be plucked and dressed/cooked? When you say 'delivered prepared and dressed', what do you mean by that? Is it plucked/skinned? Or maybe just gutted with the fur/feathers still intact? I really find this fascinating.

[peggy]

In modern day America that's what backyard swing sets are for, hanging the deer carcass :)

I have heard of this, hanging a deer carcass, but what purpose does this serve? What does hanging it for a few days accomplish?

[IshbelRobertson]

Here's info on game meats from the Beeb!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/game

[goldensmom]

When I was a kid my dad hunted deer and butchered beef and pigs. He hung the carcasses on a hoist outside of the shop. He said it was to drain the blood out of them and there was always a puddle of blood beneath so maybe that is why. He would also begin the butchering process while on the hoist. He left the carcasses on the hoist for a while but I remember it being in very cold weather and he didn't hunt or butcher when the weather was warm. My brother did the same thing with small game and I thought it was just a way to keep them until ready to skin and eat rather than piling them upon one another.

[Gregg]

My experience with bigger game, mostly deer, mirrors goldensmom's. As kids we would gut a deer, hang it and then cut the jugular to allow it to "bleed out". I was told the presence of blood would cause the meat to spoil faster. Hunting season was in the late fall so the temps were cool and usually below freezing at night. It was not uncommon for a deer to hang for several days before the final processing, but that was more a matter of having the time to get it done than anything that was required for the meat. We always dressed and processed small game (rabbits, game birds, etc.) the day they were shot. They either got cooked that night or packed and frozen. That was mostly a matter of Mom's lack of appreciation for dead animals in her kitchen. If they were gutted and bled it would have been ok to hang them for a day or two (I think), but she would have none of it.

[Rogar]

Here's info on game meats from the Beeb!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/game

My loose understanding is that the English traditionally tended to hang small game and fowl up to several days, like the article says. But I had always thought this would be done in a cool spot indoors or outdoors, not in a warm kitchen where it would spoil. This would not only help to tenderize the meat, but would "enhance" the game flavor. Anymore, all of the hunters I know process the small game as quickly as possible and then cook or freeze it. That's pretty much what I do because I worry about spoilage.

I have a friend who runs a small operation processing big game and I think his preference is to hang the game in a cooler for several days thinking it helps mellow the flavor and tenderize or season the meat, but he doesn't strictly adhere to this. Hunters who process their own big game probably don't have access to a big cooler or just prefer to butcher the animal and freeze the meat soon after it is harvested. Occasionally you even see aged beef or steak on the menu in fancy restaurants, but this is pretty much a thing of the past since high volume packing plants don't want the expense of time and space.

At least that is my understanding.

"The science behind aging says that enzymes start to break down the meat as the time after death increases, tenderizing the meat and making it more flavorful. According to the North Dakota State university’s Wild Side of the Menu (http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/he124w.htm#aging) guide to wild game, when aged at 34 to 37 degrees, meat increases in tenderness at a constant rate from one to 14 days—then plateaus. I don’t know anyone who hangs birds that long, or at that cool of temperature. Most sources I’ve found set the ideal temperature anywhere from 40 to 50 degrees. Aging birds in temperatures warmer than 60 degrees invites the risk of introducing harmful bacteria into the process."
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/wild-chef/2011/12/do-you-age-your-gamebirds

[IshbelRobertson]

I'm Scots! Not English. The nations are not interchangeable. ;)

[peggy]

I'm Scots! Not English. The nations are not interchangeable. ;)

My apology! Scotland appears to be a beautiful country and one I would love to visit one day.


Everyone- thanks for the info. That link is interesting. This is something I've always wondered about.:)