So a lot you know that I’ve been soaking my venison in saltwater and vinegar brine to draw the blood out before cooking because I don’t it tears me up. I soaked four small pieces of steak on am on my second day and third bowl of brine exchange. Yesterday I dumped it and the water was so dark red you almost couldn’t see the four small pieces of steak. They are about 2” thick by 3” wide and about 5/6” long. The second bribe dump today was pretty red as well. I still have them soaking and think almost all of the blood has to be out. This has been my normal ritual lately. Then I soak in milk to kill any vinegar that might be on it. This meat was bloodier than usual.
The problem is I have never aged my meat properly in the past and just cut up the deer right after I get home (same day) and wrap it up and freeze. Some times I’ll let it sit in the fridge for a day and then wrap a freeze. So I’ve read in the net when googling on aging meat that some leave it in a cooler sitting on to0 or ice and keep pulling the drain plug and adding ice? Or leave it in the fridge to drain for a couple days before processing. I never do either because I’m afraid the meat will spoil and fear of food poisoning...which I’ve already had from old venison just last fall from a 2 year old bloody steak I didn’t cook long enough. Any suggestions?
I can tell you my brine works wonders for me and from what I’ve read kills any bacteria and brakes down the enzymes for softer, more tender meat.