Do you use deer fat?

[jimandpj]

We just processed our first deer today. I've got a nice sized bucket of fat and am wondering if any of you render and use it? Is it appropriate for soap or cooking?

Thanks,
PJ

[Rockin'B]

I never have. It has a terrible texture in ones mouth. As a matter of fact, when we process we strive to eliminate anything that is white. Fat and connective tissue, all goes to other critters to eat.
I suppose someone will know of some use, but we haven't found it.

[MELOC]

i have been collecting mine to use in place of beef tallow for soapmaking. the sap value is basically the same.

[brownthumb]

i don't like the taste of deer fat and I also don't like to cut through bones to make the steaks. It smears the marrow and the meat tastes different. I always "bone" the meat. I mix in about 10% pork for the burger.

[sunnygrl]

I told all my guy friends i wanted their deer fat to make soap with... haven't used deer before but I want to try it...

[Charleen]

We've saved it for soap making also but I've never used it for food.

[Bercado]

I was just wondering about deer fat. My theory is that it solidifies at a higher temperature. I had some in some soup and when the soup was just cool enough to sip, it didn’t cover my mouth with the film/tallow. When it cooled off just a bit though, it was a different story.

[comfortablynumb]

it all goes into the meat grinder... with the rest of the deer.

[Jersey Milker]

I grind mine with the rest of the trimmings into burger and I save a little bit of the hard tallow to feed to the birds , they really seem to enjoy it as well.

[chas]

No one in our family will eat any of the fat.
We mix 1/4 beef with our ground meat because so many years eating deer burgers got a tad tiresome.
We never get tired of the roasts and steaks,especialy the butterfly steaks from the tenderloin!
Chas

[Cyngbaeld]

I feed it to the critters. I don't like the taste of it.

[stanb999]

Not to cause too much drift. But

I try only to shoot young deer. The older ones always have a gamie flavor. The young ones are mild like veal. They are more tender in the toughest cuts.
As an example......
would you prefer to eat a 7 year old bull or a 18mos. old steer?

Those that make the whole thing into jerky or burger just shoot the wrong deer.

[AnnaS]

Deer fat is "gamy" and coats the inside of the mouth. I remove all fat before freezing. My deer fat (and carcass) goes to the chickens, who love it.

I think deer fat would make a great soap. I always notice how soft my hands are after dressing out a deer.

[NWoods_Hippie]

None of my friends who hunt want anything to do with the fat, they all say it tastes bad, so they save it all in 5 gallon buckets and give it to me. I freeze it and feed it to the wild birds that come to my seed feeders, they love it, and I save money since I don't have to buy suet from the local market.

[suitcase_sally]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

it all goes into the meat grinder... with the rest of the deer.

Now, THAT'S gross. I don't care what anyone says - that's just GROSS!

[beaglady]

Deer fat does make very nice soap - hard, white, nice on your skin. I'd even go so far as to say 'luxurious'.

[Paquebot]

I'm with the crowd who expect venison to taste like venison. If it's a doe, all clean fat ends up in the ground meat. Always used to hear the complaint that ground venison was too dry. When we did the butchering, didn't hear that. It's the same with beef. Grind some that doesn't have a speck of fat and it'll cook up dry. Had a great aunt who rendered it like lard and used it for baking. Middle of 3 deer this year was a fat doe. Too much rump fat to include with the ground meat. Thus there's two 1-gallon Ziploc bags stuffed to the max with ground fat. That will be mixed with 77# of very lean ground buck meat for salami and other sausage as soon as we eat the 95# salami batch from the first deer!

Martin

[veme]

No. It makes me gag.

veme

[Morning Owl]

I never thought about making soap with it. Does any one here have a recipe they will share with me?

[Charleen]

Originally Posted by Morning Owl

I never thought about making soap with it. Does any one here have a recipe they will share with me?

Owl - You can sub rendered deer tallow for the lard or beef tallow that's in your usual recipe (I'm assuming you already use animal oils in your recipe). Just be sure to check with a lye calculator first.
You can also join Tallow Soapers yahoo group (Cyndi from Muller's Lane). They often discuss deer tallow for soapmaking on there.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tallow_Soapers/