Dry-aged meat sure does cut better.

as soon as cooled down, day or two

You need to hang one at least 12 hours so rigor mortise goes out. I like to hang them a couple weeks if weather allows. I skin them. The carcass will get a rind on it. Basically jerky. Dried meat. That rind is a real good dog treat. I trim it when butchering. The longer you let one hang the thicker that dried meat gets.

I leave the hide on while ageing otherwise you will lose a lot of meat due to it drying out on the surface.

If you want the scientific answer go to the University of Wyoming web site for me in a fridge at 40 skin off wrapped in plastic wrap so it does not dry out 10 to 14days.

If aging occurs. Its weather related ...to cold to skin.

My grandfather was a butcher, and I've guided a few over the years. One this year actually. They have all told me the same thing, the best most expensive beef is aged for 21-28 days. I try to hang moose at least 14 days but its not always possible. I dry age in the fridge for 21-days sometimes too.

Wow 21 to 28 days

Has anyone ever salt cured a deer ham the way you would a pork ham, in a smoke house. Always wanted to dry cure a venison ham and some venison sausage

If I’m canning the meat I don’t age it. I can it fresh or freeze fresh for canning later. Makes no difference preserving wise, it’s just the cubes hold their shape better when canned fresh. Aged meat ends up more like shredded meat when canned.

This time of year with no bugs, and it being harder to skin when real cold, I age carcass skinned. Have 2 1/2 weeks on one in the shed now.

The weather is usually too inconsistent to let it hang more than a day or 2.. If I could, I would let hang for 5-7 days..

the bearded butcher show did a test of this 7 days hanging in a cooler at 35-40 degrees hide on was perfect and it got no better adding days was their claim. cut the tenderloins out when gutting or they dry up to nothing

Hers a good explanation of the two methods.

https://meatscience.org/TheMeatWeEat/topics/article/2018/08/20/aging-beef

I prefer 3 to 5 days from kill to freezer

Can't stand dry aged meat it smells and tastes rotten to me.

I let it hang 2 to 3 days hide on if the weather permits. My deer goes for grind, roasts, backstraps and tenderloins. As far as I'm concerned none of those cuts need aging

I age mine skin off and in a controlled temperature 35- 40 degrees F in a refrigerator I rigged to hang quarters. Beef is not aged with the hide on so I figure venison shouldn’t either.

I like to let mine age for 7 months to 1 1/2 years

5-7 days, skin off, in a barn.... temperature permitting

About every butcher on the planet would disagree with you. It takes away a lot of the gameness and softens the tissue. Took me a lot of years to catch onto that, however. I'm a slow learner.

I know venison can take more warm weather than most people think. If it’s in the shade in the fall, with skin on, I have hung over a week with some day time highs of 70. They cool off good at night and the high is only for an hour or two. The body cavity still feels cool to the touch during the heat of the day. The hide helps keep the cold in.

You see a lot of old pics of commercial hunters and stores with hide on deer hanging for sale. The pics don’t look like they were all taken in late fall. Lol