I butcher my own deer. Therefore, it does not get done in one day. When it is cold, I hang it in my back yard or in my garage, but when it is warmer, I try to get it all processed as soon as possible. Since I freeze most of it, I don't worry too much about aging and have never done a side by side comparison. I have had great fresh venison the day after shooting, and have had great venison after letting it hang a while, and have also had melt-in-your-mouth-tender venison that was frozen for months. I think it is a matter of opinion and there are so many other factors that go into the 'taste' of venison, that you should do what you want to do.
I have not noticed a real difference, but then again, I tend to shoot small deer as they taste better and are really really tender.
If you are grinding everything up into sausage, it should not matter at all.
Bookmarks