I have two wild turkeys, and have them hanging in the back yard just now, after catching them last night. I usually process them immediately, but am trying to age them this time. Can you offer any advice regarding aging them, seeing as they have no heads? I am in California, and it is late summer, but I have them in a cool place, though they are out doors and getting a lot of attention from wasps and flies, although they flesh is still cool to the touch under the feathers in late afternoon.
I've contemplated dipping the are where flesh is showing (top and bottom) in salt, them coving them in a bag to continue aging for a few more days.
Any opinion is a welcome one. Thanks.
Answer Lev:
Problem number one. When you hang fowl, you do it when it is undisturbed. That is, with head, feathers and viscera intact. The thing is shot is sterile and unless you have really torn the bird up when shooting it, there should be little inside the bird to make it rot. Hanging the bird allows the enzymes in the meat to begin to work and break down the fibers making the meat more tender. Hanging birds was usually done by the neck and head at room temperature until the head fell off...the bird was ready. You can understand now why Europeans used so much seasonings in their meat back in the day...it was pretty rank...an acquired taste I guess.
I have hung ducks undesturbed for up to a week and a half a lower temperatures with no ill effects on the meat but they seemed to be more tender.
Once you have plucked the bird and evicerated it, you have introduced an army of bacteria and I would not suggest hanging them in the traditional sense.
Since the risk of salmonela is nil, you could do like the beef industry and keep them cool and moist for a week or two in the refrigerator covered with a wet cloth. The wet cloth keeps the meat from being dried by the refrigeration while in storage. The temp should be in the 40's while the enzymes do their thing. Remember they will be stiff at first due to rigor and that will subside after about 24 hours of more.
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