Curing

[BritChaser]

Weather permitting I do the same with deer. I notice sizable difference in how easy the knife cuts through the meat once the deer has hung for a few days.

I don't see why this method wouldn't work on birds. I'll have to give it a try this season and see what happens.

One other note; I've always seen this done by hanging pheasants by the head not the feet. I suppose this is to keep the gut juices from getting into the meat.(?)

I think head hanging is the way to go. Keeps gravity on your side.

 

[winchester21]

Grand Dad used to leave whole deer and elk hanging in the barn from the time they were killed until he'd trimmed all the meat off them! This was Montana so the meat probably experienced some pretty good temp swings but this was standard practice. Visit any respected steak house and ask about duration and temp of their beef aging process- might surprise you.

For me, in what initially began as an act of post hunt laziness, I now routinely leave uncleaned roosters in the garage (30-50 degrees) for a few days before taking the meat off them. Never gotten sick and they are noticeably more tender when taking the breasts out. I'm not sure it effects the taste all that much but when allowed to cure for a few days, the naturally occurring enzymes help tenderize the tissue.

 

[mnmthunting]

I clean mine daily after the hunt. In bags on ice often for several days [CLEANED WELL] Keep very well and tasty.
I can't imagine a gut shot whole bird being eatable after several days.

 

[kansasbrittany]

I clean mine daily after the hunt. In bags on ice often for several days [CLEANED WELL] Keep very well and tasty.
I can't imagine a gut shot whole bird being eatable after several days.

I have to take the guts out after the hunt. When it is 70+degrees on the opener, I'll stop before lunch to take the guts out. When it's cold enough (below 45) I'll leave bird hang over night, but always remove the guts first (same with fish). I work in the meat industry so meat temps/bacteria growth are always on my mind. That being said, my family and I don't do much to dodge bacteria. I believe we have quite an immunity built up in our bodies b/c we (knock on wood) haven't had any cases of food poisoning at our house. I'm sure many of you are the same way. My wife gripes at me b/c I eat potatoes right out of the bag after knocking the big chunks of dirt off.

My first room mate out of HS would eat his hamburgers rare to medium rare. The red stuff dripping down his chin was NOT ketchup He'd eaten hamburgers this way w/ his father since he was a child. Never once saw the guy get sick from it but I wasn't willing to eat 'em that way.

 

[Shadow]

I clean mine daily after the hunt. In bags on ice often for several days [CLEANED WELL] Keep very well and tasty.
I can't imagine a gut shot whole bird being eatable after several days.

I agree-

way back I tried aging an old buck I'd arrowed- gutted the deer and hung it by the neck- temp was pretty steady at 50 some degrees- you want to know how much real good meat I had to trim off because it dried out- course maybe a mistak- I'd skinned it

since then- I've never aged a whitetail- or a bird- clean and get in the freezer as soon as possible-

has worked for deer, elk, moose, caribou, ducks, pheasants, quail, turkey
aging- yeh- if done like the real good butcher shops do- the meat might be a bit better

I'll take a fresh killed, properly handled and cleaned- over most of the average aged things

I arrowed what many said was an old stinky big 8 point whitetail that wouldn't be worth eating, by cleaning at the sight, dragging out and getting home, skinning, boneing, and freezing as fast as I could- 6 months later a few doubters ate some- one guy gave me a bag of fresh Morrels for 3 steaks- we regularly made such an exchange for the next few years

you can age all you want- depending- it might not be as good as what isn't aged

 

[WI ditch chicken]

My family is also in the meat business. most of our sides hang in the coolers for 2 to 3 weeks alittle longer during what we call hell weeks.(3 straight weeks of county fairs 70ish animals per fair) I really think the gamey taste comes from the fact that most people don't let the meat cool fast enough.

To answer the question about making a ''loaf'' out of a bunch of breasts. I'm a sausage maker and I have done that several times. Turned out pretty good.

One of the oddests things I was asked to do was cure a beaver. No joke! A guy brought in about 15 Lbs. of meat and said it was beaver. asked for it to be smoked. so I put it in the same nets as our boneless hams sent it through the injector and smoked it. the guy was tickled pink about it and said it was great.

 

[cheesy]

To answer the question about making a ''loaf'' out of a bunch of breasts. I'm a sausage maker and I have done that several times. Turned out pretty good..

Any recipe/procedure you'd recommend for a DIY'er at home? I've got a home-built smoker that I can keep pretty good control of the temps with.

 

[Phil V.]

I found the book that was referred to in the articl that I mentioned. The name of the book is River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.I found it on amazon.com for $26.40.It shows a picture and talks about what I was asking about.It also talks about other types of game. It has a section dedicated to game meat...Phil

 

[WI ditch chicken]

Any recipe/procedure you'd recommend for a DIY'er at home? I've got a home-built smoker that I can keep pretty good control of the temps with.

Sure... You need a net like what would be put on a roast. You should be able to find one at a local butcher shop. you would need about a foot maybe a touch more.

Stretch the netting out with your hands by placing your hands inside the net as if you were praying and then seperate them keeping them in the net. make sure you leave netting unstretched towards the tips of your fingers so the breasts dont slip through and so you are able to tie a knot. Then have a buddy place the breasts in the netting. You can do this by yourself but its easier to have a friend do it. Once the breasts are in the netting remove hands and tie the ends shut making sure you have a good tight ''loaf'' air pockets are not good.

Once in the netting we inject the brine into the ''loaf'' A DIY'er can inject with a needle or let soak in the brine for a few hours. If you use a needle Insert needle about every inch pushing fluid out as you go through the loaf. If you inject you do not need to soak in brine. Remeber the more solution you inject the saltier it will be.

If soaking DO NOT LET SOAK FOR TO LONG!!! The longer it sits in the brine the saltier it will be. I would say about 6 hours should be enough.

The mix for the brine is going to be alot less then what we use remember we smoke large quantities.

Our ham brine:
For 100 pounds of water

20.20 lbs of salt
1.53 lbs of cure
1 cup of cinimon(about)

Our Bacon Brine:
For 32lbs of water

8 lbs of salt
.32 lbs of Chicago ham spice (smells like Big Red gum)
1 lb of brown sugar

Basically some salt some brown sugar and what ever else you think would be good. I would imagine if you dig on the internet you can find a recipe you like.

I will have to check on a tempurature and cooking time.

Sausage making and meat curing is an art you can get it down to a science but have fun with it and play around with different flavors and tastes.

Good luck!

P.S. We have won awards for bacon and hams in the past. This past spring we won grand champion in summer sausage (over 1000 entries) and took second with our hot dogs and bacon.

 

[cheesy]

Thanks, will have to give it a try. Your help is appreciated.

I've made some different kielbasas and such using commercially bought spice mixes and I thought they turned out well. Just bought a new sausage stuffer to not have to use the horns on the grinder that make mush out of the meat too.

Brother in law has been butchering his own hogs, making hams and bacons and they have been good as well. He's been making deer summer sausage that is great, isn't extremely fatty like the store bought stuff, but isn't dry like a lot of people try to make at home, just right.