Ok, I live in Denmark, and it is fairly common for wildmeat/game shops to hang pheasants outside their shops to ‘age’ or ‘mature’ or ‘ripen’ or whatever it’s called. It looks very attractive and rustic, but man does it stink to high heaven. The STENCH! It makes me retch, just walking past those things. Seriously retch. Gag. They’re pretty though.
I was wondering- WHY? And also (or mostly, because the answer to ‘Why?’ I guess, is just acquired taste. That’s meant more as a ‘WTF, ewwwwwww’ kinda why), how is this safe? Is it that once you cook it, all the rotten-ness (pathogens and other baddies) is killed?
Does it taste anything like it smells? Does it affect texture? I imagine it to taste ‘normal’ but to have a lingering aftertaste exactly like what I smell when I walk past those shops. <shudder>
A lot of game was traditionally aged in this manner because it would make for a more tender texture. I have a vague recollection that this was particularly important in eras in which dental hygiene was not good and people could only eat very soft meats. I understand it’s supposed to taste good too, but I haven’t had the chance to try aged game meats.