how long?

Mickey · #1 11/14/12, 08:44 AM

How long does a carcass need to hang before it's cut up?
TIA

tinknal · #2 11/14/12, 08:59 AM

Choice to prime grade 14 to 21 days. Anything less a week to 10 days.

Bret · #3 11/14/12, 09:14 AM

I feel that this is both an art and science. If the carcass has good fat and marbleing, less aging is required--say 7 to 9 days at around 38 to 40 degrees, for examble. If the carcass is more lean and a little tougher, it may benefit from longer aging to develope more flavor and tenderness.

The is time for enzymes to do their magic.

Nothing says that you can't play with dry aging individual pieces later when you want to cook them. Hope this helps.

opportunity · #4 11/14/12, 09:15 AM

I try for at least 14 days but we only hung the bull up for 8 days. The butcher only works part time so we have to schedual the killing with when he will have a day off from his day job but we plan for 14 days.

Mickey · #5 11/14/12, 09:50 AM

Thanks folks. I'll ask the butcher to hang it for 14 days if he can.

oregon woodsmok · #6 11/14/12, 12:36 PM

You have to hang it long enough for rigor mortis to pass. About 24 hours.

For aging, anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks. I let my butcher evaluate the carcass and decide on hang time. Cheap butchers will try to cut with less hang time because hang time costs them a substantial amount of money. They prefer to get the meat moved through as fast as possible.

genebo · #7 11/14/12, 12:58 PM

You want to age the meat fairly long to get the most tenderizing effect. What limits the time it can hang is the amount of fat on the outside of the carcass.

After a while hanging, the outer layers dry out. If it's fat, it would get trimmed off anyway, so no harm done. Once the beef underneath the fat begins drying out, you're losing valuable meat, so it's time to stop aging and start cutting.

A good butcher with a trained eye can tell you about how long your carcass can age once the carcass is hanging. An excellent butcher will check it frequently and age it the maximum time.

There is one other factor to consider: Not everyone likes the taste of aged beef. People who grew up eating beef they slaughtered them selves might prefer fresh beef.

Last note: you can still age beef after it has been cut and wrapped. Aging takes place any time the temperature is above freezing, with an optimum temperature of 40-42 degrees. That is a temperature you'd expect to find in parts of your refrigerator. You can take out a package of beef days ahead of time, thaw it in the fridge and let the enzymes work. If the beef is in an airtight package, very little drying will happen.

Mickey · #8 11/14/12, 01:05 PM

I just got back from dropping the carcass off. He said he usually hangs them at least 10 days or so.
I don't think I mentioned before that this is a 20 month old dexter steer and the carcass looked pretty well covered with fat so I'll hope for the best.
Oh and just as a side note; he had a gorgeous big black bear hanging in the cooler too.
Thanks for all the advice