Meat hanging minimum?

[kenaiphisher]

Quick question: Is one day enough for having my moose hung? I scored a spike early yesterday morning and it was hung by 10am. I don't have a great cold place for it in our near 70 degree days here in Kenai, but it is shaded, dry and breezy. My goal is to reduce spoilage and want to get it packaged ASAP. Is one day enough for a little spike or should I try for more? Thanks for any and all advice!

[Frostbitten]

It's plenty...get it dealt with ASAP!!

[.338WM]

It's plenty...get it dealt with ASAP!!

What he said ^^^^^^^^^^! There is no "minimum" for hanging meat, what is important is caring for it "properly", hang time is a luxury when conditions permit.

[AKmyles]

Get your knives and let the meat fly! That spike is gonna be delicious!

[Amigo Will]

Get it done and in the freezer.

[kenaiphisher]

Sharpening my knives right now. Thanks for the advice!

[Frostbitten]

Sharpening my knives right now. Thanks for the advice!

By the way...CONGRATS!!!!!

[kenaiphisher]

Thanks for the kudos. This one is just a freezer filler, but my first moose so I'm pumped.

[.338WM]

Congratulations on a job well done!

[Anythingalaska]

Aging is essentially controlled rot. Since the weather in the late summer/early fall is considerably warm, the aging happens much faster in the winter time. In the summer, I will shoot a deer and let it hang overnight; or else if I had quartered it I'll put the bag of meat in the fridge overnight, and then process and freeze the next day. However, in the winter time when the temperature is much lower, the aging process takes longer. I'll hang my deer 3-5 days typically in the winter time depending on temperature and weather. You could easily hang it a week in the winter and still be fine.

Sometimes it's convenient for me to let a deer hang for days at a time; especially when I'm preoccupied with other important things...like shooting more deer!

[Antleridge]

Congrats on your first and with a bow! Well done. :topjob:

[iofthetaiga]

Have never 'hung' any of my meat any longer than it took to get it out of the field. Everything gets processed ASAP after getting home...unless it was frozen in the field, in which case I might hang it outside frozen until such time as I could get to it (still within a day or two). All our caribou have been taken in winter and were typically frozen solid within a couple hours of gutting. Always processed them partially thawed and then refroze them immediately. Some folks like to hang their meat; I don't see the attraction.

[nooksack]

iofthethetaiga,
Have you experienced hardening when the meat freezes that fast? The back-strap and loin of my moose partially froze last year and they were very tough. I thought it just was due to his size and age but then I came home and researched and learned about cold hardening and that seemed to make sense.

[BIGAKSTUFF]

I think we should point out something as this is his firstmoose, if you CAN hang the meat – you SHOULD. We hang moose for a week if we can,but up north the garage stays around 40-45 degrees in September, which is justabout a perfect hanging temp. Hanging ittenderizes the meat as the aging process breaks it down, leaving finer tablefare in the end. There’s a reason there were always sides of beef hanging forRocky Balboa to punch at the meat packing plant….
That being said, you don’t have that option at 70 degrees,but that’s the cost of hunting big game in basically the summer, lol. Luckily for you, he is a spike and his 2 year oldbody is probably already a tender delight to put on the plate. Congrats on yourfirst bull, a favorite meal of mine is celebratory tenderloin steaks!

[iofthetaiga]

iofthethetaiga,
Have you experienced hardening when the meat freezes that fast?

No. I've heard that talked about here before, but I've never had that experience.