Wouldn't 4 days be enough if it's all being ground for hamburger?
The longer it hangs, the fewer take home pounds.
1 butcher told me he considers 14 days ideal.
Another butcher said after 10 days carcass gets slimey with too much loss and
he processes most steers with a 8-9 day hang.
3rd butcher with a small freezer and a lot of business, charges freezer storage
by the day and said most of his customers choose a 7-8 day hang.
What do you consider the optimal time to let the carcass hang?
To me that depends on a number of factors including but not limited to how old the animal was at butcher, how much fat covering does it have, and what time of year is it.
If I take a few in any time after the beginning of August there isn't a choice but to go with the flow. I usually get between 10 and 14 days. If I take it in the first week of January until May or June I can usually get 20+.
I have not seen a problem with any of my carcasses regardless of fat covering up to 21 days at my USDA butcher. I did not like the outcome of the non USDA shop that will come all the way out to us to slaughter longer than 14. I think it has a lot to do with the quality, airflow, and cleanliness of the cooler. Not that I do not like what I get from my mobile slaughter guy. I don't think that a person can compare the two as they are different animals.
Less than 10 days there will be way too much water in the meat. I know I do not like trying to fry up some burger and end up boiling it instead because of the water content. I am certainly not going to sell it to my customers. I base everything I do on what I like on my plate and it keeps my friends and family coming back.
The longer it hangs the less water is in the carcass and up to 21 days they might trim 1% more than they do at 10-14. To me the flavor starts getting really good after 14. That is also affected by my animals being grass fed and tender.
If you want even better beef, stay away from continental breeds. Stick to British breeds, in particular Angus, and Shorthorn. Right now I am running Murray Greys which at their root are mostly Angus with a little shorthorn, and I am running them to really good success. My Murray Grey bull has done wonders for my little angus herd. For even higher carcass quality feed them steers to 30 to 36 months and give them even more time to produce intermuscular fat.
If you are going to finish one steer you might as well finish 3 sell 2 and it will pay for all their feed and the butcher costs.
This is all stuff I picked up over 15 years and running in the red for the first 7. So this isn't bible and i don't know nothing but it has worked well for me.
