[castnblast]

Actually, there is a little truth to both stories...The aging process does 2 things in beef...protein naturally breaks down in refrigeration, w/out the harmfull bacteria getting a stronghold rotting the meat, thus tenderizing it in the process. If you skin and steak a cow the very day it is sloughtered, it is tough. I speak from experience w/ my personal cattle. The aging process also creates a flavor not from the fat, but from the enzymatic process that breaks the proteins down. (so I'm told...it may be a bacterial process, or both...but you get the picture) Down here in S. Tx, we can't hang deer either, but I get the same results by putting the deer on ice in camp (it's almost always too hot to hang...You really need mid 40's or below to hang w/ out risk of botulism, ecoli, salmonela, & other nasty stuff) and deboning at home. Once the meat is deboned, I seal it in Zipp-loks and let it sit in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. There is definitely a taste difference, and the meat is noticably more tender than if I freeze it immediately. I process all my own meat, and have done so since I started hunting. I've tried numerous different methods, but what I call a short aging process really does affect how tender the meat turns out.