Wild Animal Fat

[PaCarbine]

Elk fat is awesome. I’d eat that right off the fire - deer fat not much - i dont go out of my way to get every piece if fat off deer - i have found that if you simmer cubed meat of any flavor with water for 1 to 2 hours it will be tender.

 

[go_deep]

Antelope fat, remove it. Deer fat, remove it. Elk fat, leave it on!

 

[35WhelenAI]

Elk quarters go to the processor, cut into steaks and roasts, no fat added to whatever burger he makes out of what's left of the quarters.

In the field, I take the back strap and tenderloin to package myself.

Once quartered and the back straps/tenderloins are off, I cut off the rib sheath meat, meat between the ribs, neck meat, any scraps I can get after quartering and basically leave only the skeleton in the field.

The rib sheath meat, etc, is about 40lbs of meat. I cut the large external fat chunks off in the field (if you've done an elk you know what I mean) and leave the rest of the fat. When it's home I grind it up as-is and package it. Elk fat allows juicier burgers/homemade sausage and doesn't affect the taste in my experience, so there's no point to me in adding fat from another animal into the healthy high-protein elk meat.

 

[WyoKid]

Elk fat is awesome. I’d eat that right off the fire - deer fat not much - i dont go out of my way to get every piece if fat off deer - i have found that if you simmer cubed meat of any flavor with water for 1 to 2 hours if will be tender.

Good to know about Elk fat!

 

[huck]

I trim and bone every deer and elk I cut up .Ill take a mile of silver skin over an once of fat. Only fat I save is bear fat and I render that

 

[Zappaman]

I'm pretty sure it's a cultural (or acquired) taste thing. I was raised a few miles from the Mexican border and our food came from both sides of the river. I LOVED everything our Mexican hands (and my Mexican nanny) made to eat-- EXCEPT menudo... BLAH!!! Tripe soup- no thanks!

My butcher brings in a 25 lb. box of Cargill beef fat for me every few years. IT WORTH IT! I keep a lb. or so in the house freezer and reduce it before cast iron grilling our venison a couple of times a week- year round. I also use it making my deer burger and a lot of sausages (bangers especially!). But if you take off most of the deer fat, a little getting through isn't a big deal since the beef fat easily keeps it tasting good frozen for the year.

I used to use bacon (or pork butt roast which today is a LOT cheaper), but found the beef fat to be what my wife and I like best. Grilled one of my Kansas backstraps last night (that I aged for the first time) and it stood 3 1/2" tall on the plate-- looked and tasted as good as the $60 fillet I had over X-mas in Houston last month (and the wine bill was 1/5th the cost too!)

 

[DRNalaska]

I generally trim as much fat off deer as possible, I hate the waxy texture it leaves in your mouth. Can’t speak for elk.

 

[Docpk]

You can render black bear fat. Great for frying donuts.

 

[NGA]

Unfortunately never done elk. But process more deer than I can count. It's not the end of the world if you leave a little fat and silver skin. But I will say with certainty that the silver skin is not good. It's chewy and degrades the texture of your cuts and grinds. Also not good for grinder. It is good for many other things like making string. The fat doesn't ruin it, but I personally don't care for it or the flavor it puts off. So I cut as much as possible off. I get beef fat trimmings from grocery store and mix in with my deer meat. Usually ribeye.

 

[chase4545]

I have always thought that you were supposed to remove all of the fat from wild game (specifically elk and deer) while processing it. I've heard that the fat doesn't melt the same way as beef/pork fat and produces a gamey taste with a waxy mouth feel when cooked. I've always done my best to remove all the fat, silver skin, and junk from my meat.

My buddy told me to watch the below video. The butcher seems very knowledgeable, but I'm surprised to see him keeping the elk fat in the grind, roasts, etc. It just made me wonder about it.

Thoughts? Should fat be removed? Why is he keeping it? Are there any game species which you keep the fat for?

Thanks!

I trim all fat as well. I've found it does have a bad taste.

 

[rclouse79]

I get the fat off before I freeze it, and then carefully trim the silver skin off each piece after I thaw it out. I don't know if it protects the meat at all, but I have heard that. The main reason I do it is because the initial butcher job takes a lot of time, and I don't mind kicking some of that time down the road.

 

[Fordguy]

White tail fat has a high tallow content- that's what gives it the grainy texture and makes it cling/coat your mouth when you eat it. Render it and it makes a good candle, or you can make soap or waterproof your boots with it. I personally don't care to eat it if it can be avoided.