Whitetail fat

[Rufus]

Hey guys. Butchering my son’s whitetail tonight. This one has a crazy amount of fat on it. Normally see tallow type of fat between the muscles and hide, but this doe even has a significant amount of inter-muscular fat. Even a little “marbling “. Never seen that before. Normally I don’t think of whitetail fat to have a desirable flavor to it. So far, the steaks we have eaten have been great.

Normally I don’t save the tallow fat off of a whitetail. Wondering if any of you guys do? Anyone ever tried rendering it down? Any other use for the tallow fat?

 

[Fordguy]

I've rendered it and made candles as an experiment. It worked really well. Thought about making soap too, but didn't get around to trying.

 

[gilby]

I made soap out of the rendered fat from last years deer. It works really well, and it's now what I use when I shower.

 

[jedi]

I made soap out of the rendered fat from last years deer. It works really well, and it's now what I use when I shower.

im gonna need to look into this process

 

[Bloodsoakedberber]

Saw a thread on saddlehunter where a guy made candles. I've always wanted to do it with my girls but don't kill enough deer. Here's the link he shared from the thread:

How to Make Tallow Candles From Deer Fat

When the hunt is over, save that deer fat and put it to good use by making easy tallow container candles. Candles from deer fat can be a great Christmas or holiday present!

feltmagnet.com

 

[fishslap]

I just triple rendered the fat/tallow from by buck. I got a pure white disk 2.75” thick and 12” in diameter. We’re making soap. Ordered the lye from Walmart. Using some essential oils for light scent.

 

[fishslap]

I made soap out of the rendered fat from last years deer. It works really well, and it's now what I use when I shower.

Do you remember what super fat % you used in the calculations? I was thinking low, like 0-5%. Also, I was going to make it in my crockpot which only has low and high temp settings but use my thermometer to hit the temp right. I could also use the pot and my propane burner that I rendered with but wasn’t sure if the direct heat is an issue. Any thoughts?

 

[deertrout]

I'll take the tallow and heat it slowly until it's liquefied, then mix in some various bird seed, remove from heat and let it cool. Then cut to size to fit in my backyard suet feeders. The birds love em!

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

The big northern whitetails we kill always have tons and tons of fat. They sneak into the open fence farm fields and eat soybeans, canola, barley, and alfalfa. A doe I killed this year had 2.5" thick fat all across her back and ribs. The tallow needs to be removed from prime cuts even if "marbling" is there. I don't mind a bit of tallow in my grind pile just not too much. The rest goes in the 5 gallon buckets for the eagles.

 

[Rufus]

The big northern whitetails we kill always have tons and tons of fat. They sneak into the open fence farm fields and eat soybeans, canola, barley, and alfalfa. A doe I killed this year had 2.5" thick fat all across her back and ribs. The tallow needs to be removed from prime cuts even if "marbling" is there. I don't mind a bit of tallow in my grind pile just not too much. The rest goes in the 5 gallon buckets for the eagles.

That’s the same general rule that I go with also. Take it all off the steaks. Little with the grind meat is ok. Thanks. -Rufus

 

[gilby]

Do you remember what super fat % you used in the calculations? I was thinking low, like 0-5%. Also, I was going to make it in my crockpot which only has low and high temp settings but use my thermometer to hit the temp right. I could also use the pot and my propane burner that I rendered with but wasn’t sure if the direct heat is an issue. Any thoughts?

I used SoapCalc and this link for directions and indgridents. In addition to the tallow, we added coconut oil, olive oil, lye, and fragrance. It ended up being a 5% Super Fat. The bars are definitely hard and it can take a while for people to have the soap lather. I have enough hair that this isn't an issue.

 

[fishslap]

I used SoapCalc and this link for directions and indgridents. In addition to the tallow, we added coconut oil, olive oil, lye, and fragrance. It ended up being a 5% Super Fat. The bars are definitely hard and it can take a while for people to have the soap lather. I have enough hair that this isn't an issue.

Thanks!

 

[NRA4LIFE]

My dad used to render it and coat his leather boots with it when I was young. He swore by it.

 

[Nick992]

My dad used to render it and coat his leather boots with it when I was young. He swore by it.

That's a neat idea. I'm going to give that a try.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Just beware, it kinda smells bad when rendering. I'd do it outside.

 

[elkman392989]

That’s the same general rule that I go with also. Take it all off the steaks. Little with the grind meat is ok. Thanks. -Rufus

I agree with this as well at least for the Midwest farm buck, maybe not in Northern Midwest with less farms around. They get gamey fast then.

 

[___DAN___]

I've rendered it and made candles as an experiment. It worked really well. Thought about making soap too, but didn't get around to trying.

I made some for deodorant as an experiment. My wife likes it better than my evercalm. +1 to the soap idea.