Well-hung describes meat — traditionally game, beef, and mutton — that has been hung in cool, controlled conditions long enough for natural enzymes to tenderise it and for flavour to deepen. During hanging, the meat’s own enzymes break down muscle fibres and connective tissue, while moisture loss concentrates flavour; game develops its characteristic rich, almost gamey depth. The process demands precise temperature and humidity — traditionally just above freezing with good air circulation — because the same conditions that mature meat can also spoil it. Well-hung meat is darker, more tender, and more intensely flavoured than fresh-killed. It is the original dry-ageing, practised long before the term existed.