Farm related beef question.

Al shaulis · Feb 22, 2016

I know we normally talk about tractors on this site, but been having a debate on how long do you hang a beef before butchering and wrapping.
One butcher shop wants to hang the beef for 10 to 14 days. Another butcher shop said 3 to 5 days is good enough. The second butcher shop said if you hang longer then 5 days that you have more waste and have to cut off the black dead meat.
What do you think?

Mike M · Feb 22, 2016

I always heard something like 2 weeks ? But it has to be at the proper temperature too ! It won't spoil in a cooler. Above freezing but less than 40* maybe ?

rbhuntn · Feb 22, 2016

(quoted from post at 14:03:48 02/22/16) I know we normally talk about tractors on this site, but been having a debate on how long do you hang a beef before butchering and wrapping.
One butcher shop wants to hang the beef for 10 to 14 days. Another butcher shop said 3 to 5 days is good enough. The second butcher shop said if you hang longer then 5 days that you have more waste and have to cut off the black dead meat.
What do you think?

14 to 28 days is what my butcher does and does not seem to waste much.

JD Seller · Feb 22, 2016

Your second butcher is just wanting to speed up HIS time not produce you a better meat product. The 10-14 days hanging in a cooler at 35 degrees is what the BETTER butchers do. There is very little spoilage. The meat will cut better and will taste better. Have you ever heard of "aged" beef??? The aging makes the beef more tender.

rrlund · Feb 22, 2016

Or the guy doesn't have a freezer and wants to hang it outside. lol

Two weeks at least. One place we used to take it before the old couple retired and closed up always hung it for 4 weeks.

GreenAcre · Feb 22, 2016

We process our own beef every year for our family and friends, usually do 3-5 depending on who wants to join in. In doing so, we slaughter one weekend and then meet back to process on a following weekend. When we've hung it in the cooler for two weeks, the outside was dry and grey-green. After three it actually turns green and in some places fuzzy. We trim it off before we process, some like it this way, and if the calf is particularly fat, the trimming might need to take place anyway. For our own, we hang it only one week and there is little that needs to be trimmed off the outside of the quarters before processing. The particular circumstances and condition of the beef also plays a part in deciding. Cooler temp never gets over 35.

gene bender · Feb 22, 2016

10-14 da is what my father always wanted they cut the mold and you have good aged beef. I see a film of a fancy first class place in NY CITY that had tons of cut beef in a HUGE place in their basement and a Woman buyer who only bought the best for them quite a site to see tons of beef just hanging there waiting for the rite customer who wanted top quality for their meal.

JimB2 · Feb 22, 2016

See link to research conducted.
Beef Tenderness vs hanging days

4520BW · Feb 22, 2016

The longer the better. Deer we always hang for at least 2 weeks at 38 degrees and they are more tender and don't have that wild taste to them.

4020 electrician · Feb 22, 2016

My butcher calls after the first week wanting a cut order. He usually lets it hang 10-14 but I'm always about 5 days for returning a phone call😜.

RayP(MI) · Feb 22, 2016

I figure the sooner thr better. I do not want green moldy spoilt meat. When I do my own venison, I put it up as quickly as I can.
Seems like every year someone discards one or more too long dead deer on the back of my place. Yuck.

Dick2 · Feb 22, 2016

My Dad always ordered beef hung in the cooler for 10 days before it was cut up. I don't know what was magical about 10 days, but that is what he wanted.

cool hand · Feb 22, 2016

I've never understood "that wild taste."

onefarmer · Feb 22, 2016

The absolute best beef I've ever had, was one that I took to be butchered and waited for them to call wanting cutting instructions. Three weeks went by and he never called, so I called him. He said he was waiting for me. It hung 4 weeks total. Tender and tasty MMMMM.

Dave H (MI) · Feb 22, 2016

In Chicago I sometimes eat at a place called Primehouse. They pride themselves on their salt aged beef. I splurged on a 45 day old steak a couple of years ago. In my opinion, there were parts that tasted the way a dead critter smells. Not my cup of tea.

Pair-a-dice farm · Feb 22, 2016

My butcher now ages ours 14 days. When I was a kid my dad always said 21 days
I've got a nephew that runs one of those fancy restaurants in Vegas. They dry age beef for about 30 days and trim off the rotten meat before cooking. I've never tried it but it sounds awful.
Sometimes I go to the grocery store and look for the discount meat that has been in the cooler too long. It's the steaks that have turned gray and the wrapper is slimy. They are the best flavor and most tender as well as the cheapest.

DoubleR · Feb 22, 2016

I deal with 3 different custom butchers. All three hang their beef 10-14 days. I sell about 10 steers a year to private sales through the three and get no complaints.

tomNE · Feb 22, 2016

the longer the better; mine, i like 28days, but usually get charged extra for locker space.

Determined · Feb 22, 2016

Last one we slaughtered was on Jan 28, just got the last of it into the freezer a couple of days ago..
3 weeks is the minimum we aim for.
Keeping a close watch on the temp and humidity in the cooler makes a big difference if you are experiencing green mold or dry leather.
Our cooler is set at 34 degree and has an extra thermometer inside to make sure the temp does not vary.
A properly finished animal with a good layer of fat on it will not have much for dried out parts to cut off.
Good air circulation the first 48 hours will drop the humidity enough that mold will not be an issue.
A fan blowing into the cooler with one door cracked open until temp and humidity stabilize works well for us.
We will start processing the trim that will be used for sausage and hamburger after 1 week.
Trim up the loins and leave them in the cooler a full 3 weeks before sawing up and packaging.
Have read studies that say after 6 months in the freezer the benifits of aging in regard to softness will be gone.
We often take a package of steaks out of the freezer a week before we plan on cooking them, they do improve when thawed in the fridge and have enough time to absorb the liquid lost when thawing out.

K Effective · Feb 23, 2016

We're scheduled to take the next ten in March 28, the meat will be cut starting April 12, frozen and ready that week. Kill days are Monday and Wednesday, cut on Tues/Thurs/Friday.

Farm related beef question.

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