Aging venison in Texas

I want to process my own deer but when it comes to the aging process how do you age your venison without a walk in cooler ?

I never have. About three days in an ice chest has worked well for me. I never eat quail on the same day I kill them.

3-5 days in a cooler n ice......

I start in a cooler then bring it home and put in the fridge. Luckily I'm single as it takes up the whole fridge.

I need to buy a used fridge just for this purpose.

You can easily convert a fridge for aging meats. Just need a working dedicated fridge, a humidifier, and a temp/humidity controller, along with some racks and hooks to hang meat. I'm going to start working on one in the near future.

Quartered up in cooler, drain and add more ice each day for 3 to 5 days. Make sure to put the leg quarters in so that the cut side is down so the blood can drain out.

I only age game long enough to process it.

Have taken cuts out of still warm deer many times at camp for dinner/lunch etc and I don't notice a difference.

You don't really... all your doing with a cooler is getting some blood out of the meat. The facto of actually aging meat is the point you keep the skin dry in a walk in and let the meat age... I have no idea why people want to get the blood out of the meat iv tried it both ways and there is really no difference. Now true aged meat once you get that meat to have a nice thick outer layer is something amazing... I use to leave on hanging for 1-2 weeks

There are 2 types of aging meat, usually associated with beef,but other heavily muscled animals as well,such as elk or moose.
Wet age is basically where you have processed to quarters and cryovaced (sealed) the meat and keep it refrigerated for up to a month.
Dry aging is hanging the quarters in a walk in cooler with temps between 35 and 42 degrees for up to 45 days.
For whitetail aging is not really necessary, but I do let my cuts age in the fridge from a frozen state for a few days. Aging is all about bacterial growth, which breaks down muscle fiber to make a more tender cut of meat.

IMO... cuts for jerky, sausage and ground don't see much advantage to aging. cuts for steak see a great improvement. aging allows for rigor mortis to run it's course and enzymes to start their tenderizing work.

IMO... icing in a cooler to leach out blood doesn't help much with the quality of the meat. I do, however, try my best to bleed out a deer immediately after it's shot (cut throat). the butchering is much cleaner when skinning out and the carcass won't be bloodying up the cleaning surface when you cut it up. blood tends to carry the "gamey" taste that some folks try to avoid - same principal as bleeding a fish (or cutting out the blood line on a red drum).

I've also always wanted to try an electrostimulator since I learned about them in college, and then saw one used on an episode of Bizarre Foods. Pretty sure he went to Tim Love's restaurants in Austin (I think) and Tim took him to the ranch where he gets a lot of wild game. They shot a doe or something and used the electrostimulator to bleed it out instantly. There is some pretty cool science behind it, I learned a little about it in some animal science classes at TAMU. I also didn't realize the electrostimulators were affordable enough for the average hunter but they look to sell for $300 so not all that bad really.

http://store.tenderbuck.com/products/tenderbuck-electrostimulator

I always leave mine on ice in a cooler for several days. Mostly with the aim of rigor to occur and relax

We talk about getting the 'blood' out. I'd argue that there probably isn't a lot of blood left in the muscles. I'd be willing to bet that most of the color that comes out of the quarters is myoglobin. Myoglobin is what carries oxygen in muscle. It is water soluble and has a red color. Its related to hemoglobin that is found in blood.

Think of a rare steak that will have some 'blood' on the plate when it rests. Thats myoglobin coming out of the muscle.

I recently converted a refridgerator to hang quarters, please explain the humidifier...all I did was ripped out all the shelves and drawers and built a rack I use stainless wire to hang the quarters, so far 1 buck and 1 sow. Both hung for a week and turned nicely.

I've been reading up on this and it sounds logical. But I just don't think it is practical for the average hunter that only takes a few animals a year. If it was less costly it might be. Maybe they could make a version that would operate off of your car/truck battery that would be cheaper.

If I convert a fridge to age meat. Why do i need a humidifier and humidity controller? I am assuming this goes in the fridge? What type of humidifier? I usually keep on ice in a cooler until I have time to debone. But I always lose some meat on the outer edges that becomes discolored probably from the constant moisture.

Well, I'd highly suggest doing some research on aging meat and building an aging refrigerator. There is TONS of information on the internet. You need a humidifier and temperature/humidifier controller because aging meat requires a specific temperature and humidity. Just having a fridge in most places isn't sufficient because the humidity is not ideal. So yes, the humidifier and controller go inside the fridge. And when you age meat, you always lose some of the meat because you are literally allowing the meat to slowly decompose at a controlled rate in a controlled bacteria free environment.

Again, definitely do some research before attempting.