There's no fat to break down on the muscle. Why age it?
Thought I'd try something different, and according to one site:
Aging game meat, including deer and other venison, does two things. It breaks down connective tissues via naturally occurring enzymes, increasing the tenderness of the meat. And, it dehydrates the moisture within the muscles, leading to an overall weight loss of up to 30 percent depending on the length of the aging process. This concentrates that meaty flavor we all love.
Marinate it in the fridge. I’m sure game was hung in the past but we live lots longer now.
If the outside air temp is 35 or lower, I will filed dress the deer as soon as I can, then hang it in the back yard with the skin on for at least a day, maybe two depending on how lazy I am to butcher it. If I need to, I will rinse the body cavity with cold water to clean it and help cool it down.
I butcher/process the meat myself. The more time you spend with the meat BEFORE you freeze it, the better it will be.
I butcher/process the meat myself. The more time you spend with the meat BEFORE you freeze it, the better it will be.
My processor skins the deer when it comes in and hangs it on a rail along with a hundred or so others. It may take two weeks to get the meat back. His commercial cooler has a maintained temp of 33-36 degrees with humidity control. We have never had an issue with any meat coming from his facility. Nobody else has either. You drag it around in your truck for a week to show off and it has an off smell because it's turning rancid, he won't process it.
Hanging at a processor in a controlled environment is different than hanging one in a shed and counting on the weather to hold...
I've always taken mine to a processor. Last year a buddy helped me quarter one up and we wrapped it in cling wrap real good. We then put it in 2 large ice chests for 4 days. We added ice as needed. We then processed it ourselves. Hands were cold as hell doing it! It was the best tasting deer meat I'd ever had hands down. Lots of work though. I must add though, it was probably better tasting mainly from the extra care of removing all the sinue and other white tissues. I know the processors do not do that.
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You know I'm a little disappointed I clicked on this thread expecting to find a 2 page deep argument on aging live deer on the hoof! 
(BTW you can age meat safely at home just gotta watch the temperature. If it gets to warm best just to butcher it)
(BTW you can age meat safely at home just gotta watch the temperature. If it gets to warm best just to butcher it)
I did the hanging thing and tested tenderness on day 1 and day 7 and day 14 and day 21 by cutting a small section from the back strap and cooking it with no tenderizing done.
Day 1 and 7 were the same day 14 was just slightly more tender and you had to be really paying attention to tell any difference but by day 21 it had turned the corner and was starting to tender up.
Worth it? NO!
On a scale of 1-10 10 being day 1 toughness the day 21 was an 8 or maybe a 7 on the scale.
Now I recently began hammering to tenderize some meat on the day I killed a deer. and the tenderness on that would be a 3 on the scale. You could cut it with a fork.
Now that lead me to research meat tenderizers. Which i did last week.
Read here
http://www.foodsharkmarfa.com/best-meat-tenderizers/
I got the Jaccard 48 blade tenderizer the other day and have used it 2 times and it made the steaks fork tender.
One deer I had cut the rump off of and made some steaks from a lower section of muscle near the lower part of the leg.. it too was tender ..and that section of meat would have been for the grinder.
I found hanging a deer and aging it does not do much to make it tender.
I even went as far as to cover it in salt and see what happens. Yea do not do that. You get salt lick.
For max tenderness I have browned the meat that I cut into cubes and packed into mason jars and added broth and pressure canned for 90 minutes.
You can't poke it with a fork without it falling apart.
That would be a 1 on the tenderized scale.
Day 1 and 7 were the same day 14 was just slightly more tender and you had to be really paying attention to tell any difference but by day 21 it had turned the corner and was starting to tender up.
Worth it? NO!
On a scale of 1-10 10 being day 1 toughness the day 21 was an 8 or maybe a 7 on the scale.
Now I recently began hammering to tenderize some meat on the day I killed a deer. and the tenderness on that would be a 3 on the scale. You could cut it with a fork.
Now that lead me to research meat tenderizers. Which i did last week.
Read here
http://www.foodsharkmarfa.com/best-meat-tenderizers/
I got the Jaccard 48 blade tenderizer the other day and have used it 2 times and it made the steaks fork tender.
One deer I had cut the rump off of and made some steaks from a lower section of muscle near the lower part of the leg.. it too was tender ..and that section of meat would have been for the grinder.
I found hanging a deer and aging it does not do much to make it tender.
I even went as far as to cover it in salt and see what happens. Yea do not do that. You get salt lick.
For max tenderness I have browned the meat that I cut into cubes and packed into mason jars and added broth and pressure canned for 90 minutes.
You can't poke it with a fork without it falling apart.
That would be a 1 on the tenderized scale.
Jaccard can be dangerous, especially if you're not cooking meat to higher temps. Like for steaks? Not a chance. Unless you like 'em well-done. That's my position, anyways.
