The aging process Pat describes is not a bacterial decomposition so much as it is enzymatic. Huge world of difference between the two. One causes spoilage, sickness and death while the other stimulates magical and mystical things within the muscle tissue that exhibits itself in richer flavor, more tender steaks and roasts, and great celebration among those that practice this strange and esoteric craft.
I'm pretty dang lucky. Other than archery antelope season, our big game seasons usually allow me to hang my game in the garage and carefully monitor the temps. I now use an instant read digital thermometer in one ham of the deer and another in a front shoulder. There is enough of a temperature difference that I have had to take a deer down from his hind ankles to hang by the neck. I like to get 14 days of hang time if I can. Our climate is pretty dry and any exposed flesh immediately glazes over by drying out. I leave the hide on to slow the drying process, but still find that the deer loses a good amount of weight over that time anyway.
I have never had "gamey" venison that has been aged this way. Not even the antelope I was able to hang for up to 14 days. That does NOT mean that it loses it's own flavor and suddenly it tastes like bland grain fed factory steer! Oh no, it retains that flavor of venison, but does not get rank or strong.
The key is in the temperature. Above 38 degrees the aging speeds up exponentially so that if it reaches 40, it gets cut up that day even if it means not going in to work. Below 38 it slows until at 32 degrees it barely creeps along. If I were to hold at 32 degrees, I would venture to say you would want to give it 28 days of aging! You gonna pay about $65 a pound for T-bone beef aged 28 days.
Last year I tried an experiment to try cutting down on moisture loss. I have one of those pump sprayers for cooking oil and I spray painted the interior of the carcass after allowing it 48 hours to "skin over" as Pat puts it. I think it retained a bit more moisture and there was less waste trimming off the crusties. Does the moisture loss cause the meat to cook up more dry? Danged if I know, I cook mine to rare, medium rare at the most and have noticed no difference. The few roasts that end up crock potted with veggies and all to make pot roast can't be too dry because they are swimming in beef broth and good red wine! If you are cooking to medium well or (God help you fools) well done, there ain't a thing you can do to keep it from drying out. You can't even inject enough moisture into it to save a steak from that treatment.
