Who Uses Venison Fat When Processing?
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In another thread here there is discusses about lean to fat ratios for deer sausage. I had made some comments about adding more pork fat to bring the lean to fat ratio up to about 75/25.
What I did not consider in that discussion is that some people may be including deer fat in their meat block when they make sausage.
I do not do this, and will trim and discard almost all the trimmable deer fat off of the carcass and primals when I am butchering since I do not care for the flavor or the stability of deer fat.So the question is, who of you include the deer fat with your venison trim for grinding? Depending on the individual specimen, some deer carcasses can be really fat.
processhead Wow, this one really got everyone’s attention! I am wondering if the question should be, who has actually tried a little of the fat in their sausage, etc. & experimented with getting the right ratio for the right taste & mouthfeel. Then too, it will definitely depend on the deer as this is not a domestic, scientifically raised animal we are dealing with.
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processhead i do not use or care for the taste of the deer fat. Its’ definitely not Duck fat
GWG8541 It definitely does not have the taste & feel of duck fat, but duck fat is in a whole nother universe.
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I always save deer fat. It’s great for the chickens, the dogs like it and the wild birds are more then happy to eat it up. As for eating it ourselves, beef fat and pork fat are both better to most peoples taste nowadays and is easy enough to come by that I use that instead.
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I have never used deer fat, they just don’t put that kind of weight on here like they do up north. If there is any fat I always just trim it off.
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In another thread here there is discusses about lean to fat ratios for deer sausage. I had made some comments about adding more pork fat to bring the lean to fat ratio up to about 75/25.
What I did not consider in that discussion is that some people may be including deer fat in their meat block when they make sausage.
I do not do this, and will trim and discard almost all the trimmable deer fat off of the carcass and primals when I am butchering since I do not care for the flavor or the stability of deer fat.So the question is, who of you include the deer fat with your venison trim for grinding? Depending on the individual specimen, some deer carcasses can be really fat.
processhead We always trim as much fat as possible.
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Ok, there seems to be universal agreement.
I had to ask since it seemed in the other post that lots of guys were not adding much pork fat or beef fat to their meat block for their deer sausages. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something.Paul
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Deer in my area fatten up on soy beans and corn in the fall. Does their feed make any difference in the fat?
marzig20 I tend to say no, but there is a noticeable difference in the meat texture and flavor from northern pine needle fed deer and mid central cropland deer. Southern I don’t know about.
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marzig20 I tend to say no, but there is a noticeable difference in the meat texture and flavor from northern pine needle fed deer and mid central cropland deer. Southern I don’t know about.
twilliams that is a fact. I used to hunt the farm fields if central Ohio, which is relatively flat and predominantly crop land. I hunt more in Southern Ohio now, which is the foothills of the Appalachian. Even in the same state and only a few hours drive apart, there is a noticeable difference in taste because of the diet of the deer.
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Deer in my area fatten up on soy beans and corn in the fall. Does their feed make any difference in the fat?
marzig20 I would say, absolutely.
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Ok, there seems to be universal agreement.
I had to ask since it seemed in the other post that lots of guys were not adding much pork fat or beef fat to their meat block for their deer sausages. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something.processhead My wife’s uncle doesn’t add much pork or fat to his sausage at all. That comes from him just being a complete cheap-o and thinks he makes a great link. To me it’s not great at all, he has been lied to by too many people, so he keeps on making it.
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processhead My wife’s uncle doesn’t add much pork or fat to his sausage at all. That comes from him just being a complete cheap-o and thinks he makes a great link. To me it’s not great at all, he has been lied to by too many people, so he keeps on making it.
HerbcoFood I would think that it would be very dry, I don’t think I would like that at all.
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HerbcoFood I would think that it would be very dry, I don’t think I would like that at all.
bocephus It’s a dry turd to be saying it kindly.
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Ok, there seems to be universal agreement.
I had to ask since it seemed in the other post that lots of guys were not adding much pork fat or beef fat to their meat block for their deer sausages. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something.processhead I’m with you on no venison fat. I know some people use less pork trimmings than I do, which is why they like my sausage more than theirs.
I have found that anything below 22 % really is just too dry for any type of sausage, venison included. I try to keep mine between 27 and 30 %. Works well for me.
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processhead I’m with you on no venison fat. I know some people use less pork trimmings than I do, which is why they like my sausage more than theirs.
I have found that anything below 22 % really is just too dry for any type of sausage, venison included. I try to keep mine between 27 and 30 %. Works well for me.
Chef said in Who Uses Venison Fat When Processing?:
processhead I’m with you on no venison fat. I know some people use less pork trimmings than I do, which is why they like my sausage more than theirs.
I have found that anything below 22 % really is just too dry for any type of sausage, venison included. I try to keep mine between 27 and 30 %. Works well for me.
I am right there with you, Chef. Totally agree with your philosophy on sausage. I may up the fat percentage even a bit hight for certain sausage types like breakfast or chorizo.
Paul
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Chef said in Who Uses Venison Fat When Processing?:
processhead I’m with you on no venison fat. I know some people use less pork trimmings than I do, which is why they like my sausage more than theirs.
I have found that anything below 22 % really is just too dry for any type of sausage, venison included. I try to keep mine between 27 and 30 %. Works well for me.
I am right there with you, Chef. Totally agree with your philosophy on sausage. I may up the fat percentage even a bit hight for certain sausage types like breakfast or chorizo.
processhead I Happened to get a Univex Fat Analyzer a few years ago on eBay for $35.00. They sell new for nearly $800.00 with shipping.
While it would be hard for the home processor to justify this kind expense, if you have the opportunity to get a cheap used one like I was fortunate enough to find, I would recommend go for it.
The variability within a cut and between packers is enormous. I used to always follow my recipes, but sometimes my sausage was dry and sometimes too fatty. I can now adjust after a quick 5 minute test.
Some guys out there may be better at estimating the actual fat content, I’m not that good. Maybe their suppliers are more consistent than mine were. What I was producing was from 18 to 34 %.
What I buy lately seems to be as variable if not more so. At least I have the opportunity to calculate just what I need to get a consistent product.
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processhead I Happened to get a Univex Fat Analyzer a few years ago on eBay for $35.00. They sell new for nearly $800.00 with shipping.
While it would be hard for the home processor to justify this kind expense, if you have the opportunity to get a cheap used one like I was fortunate enough to find, I would recommend go for it.
The variability within a cut and between packers is enormous. I used to always follow my recipes, but sometimes my sausage was dry and sometimes too fatty. I can now adjust after a quick 5 minute test.
Some guys out there may be better at estimating the actual fat content, I’m not that good. Maybe their suppliers are more consistent than mine were. What I was producing was from 18 to 34 %.
What I buy lately seems to be as variable if not more so. At least I have the opportunity to calculate just what I need to get a consistent product.
Chef said in Who Uses Venison Fat When Processing?:
processhead I Happened to get a Univex Fat Analyzer a few years ago on eBay for $35.00. They sell new for nearly $800.00 with shipping.
While it would be hard for the home processor to justify this kind expense, if you have the opportunity to get a cheap used one like I was fortunate enough to find, I would recommend go for it.
The variability within a cut and between packers is enormous. I used to always follow my recipes, but sometimes my sausage was dry and sometimes too fatty. I can now adjust after a quick 5 minute test.
Some guys out there may be better at estimating the actual fat content, I’m not that good. Maybe their suppliers are more consistent than mine were. What I was producing was from 18 to 34 %.
What I buy lately seems to be as variable if not more so. At least I have the opportunity to calculate just what I need to get a consistent product.
That would be a great tool to have for making a consistent commercial product. No question, a pork butt can be trimmed with a huge amount of variation in fat cap amount and intermuscular fat can vary too.
To some degree, I do my meat blocks the old fashioned way, I judge the lean to fat by eye after grinding, which is less than ideal but also better than nothing.
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