Aging Wild Hog Meat

[Hog slayer]

How long should wild hog meat hang before getting processed. I was always told to get it to the butcher shop as soon as possible because wild hog meat will spoil much faster than other game. The buctcher I have used over the years use to get our meat done in a week. The new meat cutter is taking almost two weeks. I am a little concern about the meat hanging so long before being cut. I searched the Internet and found some info but not a lot.

 

[myfriendis410]

We have a big walk-in reefer held between 35 and 45 F that we store our carcasses in. The rule of thumb we use is 5 days for pork, 7 for venison. Be aware that your butcher is probably going to take your carcass and hang it in his freezer, so if it takes two weeks; who cares? Freezing is easier for a production shop 'cause they can run most of the carcass through a band saw. It's quick, but you go get bone marrow in the meat which can contribute to "off" flavors. I think a lot of complaints about "gamey" meat can be traced back to this practice. We've pretty much quit using a saw entirely in our butchering, and we do it all ourselves.

Hanging the carcass allows it to dry out and lets some bacterial action take place. Really, man only eats fresh fish and fowl. Everything else is aged.

 

[DFG_Bear]

Meat spoilage depends mostly on field care. Not so much about the cooler. Also, as 410 said - they're most likely hanging it in the freezer, but you could always ask just to be sure.

-Marc