Thread: Seeking advice on processing deer at home without access to a chiller

Hanging and aging is important. At 6-7 days there is quite an improvement over 1-2 day meat but at 10 days there is a dramatic improvement so much so that a chiller of some sort is the way to go. An old chest freezer with wooden hanging frame and plastic tubs in the bottom works well for me. I run it on a timer so it comes on twice a day and holds at 2 -4c. The freezer has an advantage of dropping the temp quickly if run continually until the correct temp is reached at the bone. It appears to me that because bones are actually little factories, they seem to be carrying on generating heat even after death. Use a temp probe and get that meat quickly chilled to the bone if it is to be hung for a while, thats the key, well that and a good overnight hang in the wind to dry it down and drain the fluids