skinning deer....trimming fat

saskgunowner101

saskgunowner101

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Just wondering how much fat you leave on when skinning your deer? I got my first deer yesterday, and when I pulled the hide off, quite a bit of fat was left on(pudgy deer I guess) covering the meat.

I wasn't sure what the general consensus was for leaving the fat on. Does it protect the meat somewhat while it is hanging?? Or am I going for a nice final trim today??

I know it gives an "off" flavor to the meat, but is that only when cooking?? Thanks in advance for your advice.:redface:
 
snowshoe said:
I leave the fat on. It protects the meat from drying out while it ages. I trim all fat off when I butcher it.
Click to expand...

Good advice but as pointed out, trim all the fat off before actually butchering the meat. Wild game fat is typically very strong tasting and does not enhance the flavour of a steak or other cut as it does on a beef.
 
As soon as I tag the deer, I start preparing it to eat. Gut and clean it. My hunting buddies have a crane with a handcranked hook that fits into the truck hitch receiver. Lift the deer on a gambrel through the hind leg tendons. We start skinning right away while the body is warm. Trim off the big chunks of fat. Bag in cheesecloth or wrap in black plastic. Bag the hide and head. Everything goes into the truck, and we get back to hunting.

After dark and in a shed we get out the knives and cut the quarters and backstraps. We ditch the rib cage appropriately. The final butchering is done at home.
 
If you're taking it to be processed & it will probably be cut up fairly quickly trim as much fat as you can before you drop it off. Pull the tenderloins too. You pay by the pound so any weight you remove saves a little $.

If it will be hung to age leave it on.
 
Its nice to know I can count on all you CGN'ers advice no matter what the issue is. I was very surprised with the amount of fat on the deer, not like the deer I've seen skinned on youtube and such.

I plan to butcher it myself, bone out. I pulled the back straps? out, cause I heard they are okay to eat without aging. Any favorite marinades to recommend?? Otherwise, soy sauce , Worcestershire, liquid smoke, and peppers going to be it.
 
I've whacked deer that had fat over an inch thick over the entire back, as well as having fat globs all through the internals. Well fed, grain finished whitetail! Nothing quite like it.

Skin it, hag it to cool, and leave as much fat intact as long as you can while it hangs. It does keep the meat from turning to jerky while hanging, and does not hurt anything.
Remove as much as you can, as short a time before taking it for cutting, if you are not doing it yourself. On most of the really fat ones I did, you could work your fingers under the fat slabs and strip it off in chunks, once it had cooled.
Deer don't pound the fat into the muscle tissue like cattle do with their marbling, so most of the fat can be trimmed pretty easily. Good thing, too, as I don't find deer fat particularly palatable, esp. once it cools a bit. Seems like it sticks to the inside of the mouth, and has an odd texture, compared to, say, beef fat.

Definitely trim as much off the carcass as you can before you take it to a butcher, as you usually pay by the pound on the hook prior to him (or her) starting to trim away the waste. The fat all ends up as trim, as well as the dry outer surfaces, if the carcass has been hanging for long, so it's worth taking good care to avoid either.

Cheers
Trev
 
Tenderloin...

Howdy,

THose backstraps that you mentioned don't need any marinating. Cut them into medallions (Like a fillet mignon) and wrap them in bacon. Season with salt and pepper and BBQ until pink inside. You won't bother with steak after that.



Stef
 
I leave it on.

My wife trims it off when she butchers the deer.

She kept a couple slabs to render down for suet for Christmas baking.
 
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