Deer fat and brains

[PaleoPhil]

Has anyone tried wild deer kidney fat or brains? I asked my brother-in-law to save me it if he gets a deer or two, but I read one article that said that deer fat tastes bad.

[djr_81]

I've not tried straight deer fat yet but any of the cuts I've had in the past didn't have a bad taste to any fat on it.
I did put a request in with of friend of mine who takes down at least two a season so will have plenty to comment on. As he dresses and butchers it all himself I'm also getting all of the organs I want. When I spoke with him about the fat he mentioned depending on how lean a year it is will change the taste. Lots of available food and thr fat will be milder, less food and it concentrates the flavor in the fat. He was practically salivating talking about the fat though so I doubt it tastes bad. I'll comment back when I do try the raw fat.

[yon yonson]

i've had deer marrow before and was not impressed. it was either really chalky or had very little fat mixed with blood depending on the bone. and the taste wasnt that great either. it might have been because these deer were taken during a drought (i live in central texas) or something. im sure if there was plenty of green grass it'd taste really good

[TylerDurden]

i've had deer marrow before and was not impressed. it was either really chalky or had very little fat mixed with blood depending on the bone. and the taste wasnt that great either. it might have been because these deer were taken during a drought (i live in central texas) or something. im sure if there was plenty of green grass it'd taste really good

The only raw deer fat I've been able to get hold of was deer marrow, and I , in contrast, found it to taste FAR better than any other kind of marrow I'd ever tasted. There may be some caevats, though re this:- the deer marrow I bought came from truly wild deer not farmed deer(I've eaten marrow from grainfed cattle and it always tastes bland or foul); also the best-tasting marrow comes from the lower leg , and is soft and creamy at room-temperature(and reddish-white in colour
 due to the blood-content). Marrow from the upper leg is invariably dry as sawdust(and tastes like sawdust for those who haven't gotten used to it).

For those wanting deer brains etc., you will be have to specifically request a hunter to kill a deer for you *nd you'll h*ve to buy the the whole *nim*l.Hunters *re usu*lly *lw*ys f*rmers.

[yon yonson]

the deer marrow i got was from hunted wild deer, not farmed. i don't know it was probably just a starved deer or something. i'm definitely gonna try it again and expect the marrow to be better

[PaleoPhil]

For those wanting deer brains etc., you will be have to specifically request a hunter to kill a deer for you *nd you'll h*ve to buy the the whole *nim*l.Hunters *re usu*lly *lw*ys f*rmers.

Yeah, I asked my brother-in-law. I didn't ask for marrow because I figured that would be too much of a hassle for him.

[djr_81]

Yeah, I asked my brother-in-law. I didn't ask for marrow because I figured that would be too much of a hassle for him.

If he's butchering it himself it doesn't make much difference if he tosses the legs or gives them to you whole. The "hassle" is breaking them down to get to the marrow and quality free food is worth the hassle IMO.

[DeadRamones]

My GF's mom & step dad gives us venison bones for our dog. Now I'm tempted to take a few bites of it before I give it to him.

[PaleoPhil]

If he's butchering it himself it doesn't make much difference if he tosses the legs or gives them to you whole. The "hassle" is breaking them down to get to the marrow and quality free food is worth the hassle IMO.

However, I don't have a saw with which to break them down and I don't want to trouble my brother-in-law about it (he's not fond of fats or organs and thinks of it as trash). Have you been able to get the marrow out without sawing up the leg bones?

[yon yonson]

However, I don't have a saw with which to break them down and I don't want to trouble my brother-in-law about it (he's not fond of fats or organs and thinks of it as trash). Have you been able to get the marrow out without sawing up the leg bones?

come on phil, if you can't figure out how to break open a bone i don't know if you should be allowed to eat it, ha. seriously though, just hit it hard with something. i also live in an apartment and don't have a saw. i've got a hammer though and some ingenuity. think about it, no paleo guys had saws, just bash it.

[djr_81]

However, I don't have a saw with which to break them down and I don't want to trouble my brother-in-law about it (he's not fond of fats or organs and thinks of it as trash). Have you been able to get the marrow out without sawing up the leg bones?

I've not had the pleasure yet but I doubt I'd saw them anyway. As mentioned by Yon; a good hammer (or perhaps a small sledge) would work wonders. It both works out aggressions and would make the marrow more easily accessed & enjoyed IMO.

[PaleoPhil]

Good point. Do the bones make a mess, splintering all over, or what? I think I'll ask my brother-in-law for the lower legs. After all, no sense letting them go to waste now is there?

[djr_81]

Good point. Do the bones make a mess, splintering all over, or what?

Again, this is conjecture as I'm going to do it for the first time later this fall but I'd imagine you will get quite a bit of splintering. Just break them enough to pry open further (flathead screwdriver seems a logical choice here unless you have a favorite fixed-blade knife) and scrape our the marrow when you've broken them open.

[van]

You might try to get your butcher to split it length wise.   Now that I am heating my fat to 100f,  I have thought of heating the bone standing up in the pot.  It might,  (for sure the lower leg section will) melt out and simply collect it in it's liquid state. 

[PaleoPhil]

I doubt the marrow would melt out. Marrow is pretty easy to get out if you get the bones cut into short sections. I just take a sharp knife and dig under the edges at one end and then push it out from the other end.

[Josh]

How about buying a cheap hacksaw then cutting them into sections? I get bones ready sawed then dig the marrow out with an old screwdriver.

[PaleoPhil]

I find the marrow pretty easy to get out just by pushing it out once one end is loosened. It's only the marrow bones that don't have holes on both ends that I have to dig it out from.

I wonder why African antelope marrow is easy to pull out from an entire lower leg and looks kind of rubbery and holds together in one long, white strip (based on nature and survival show footage I've seen), whereas American cattle marrow tends to break apart and have a more suet-like consistency? Has anyone tried grassfed bovine marrow? Is it different from the grainfed marrow?

[TylerDurden]

Grassfed ox/beef marrow tastes great(just get the marrow from the lower leg, though, if possible, as the upper marrow is very dry and bland in taste). I've tried grainfed marrow and it tastes so bland it's just horrible.

[djr_81]

My wife's uncle has a bunch of meat/fat for me to pick up but I'd like a bit of advice from everyone who's been eating wild deer raw;
My mother has expressed concern about Lyme's Disease in raw deer meat. As it's a blood-borne spirochete I can see the logical concern about this. I need some scientific backing or at least anecdotal evidence to allay any fears. I know some on here have been eating venison without problems but I think most are outside the range of Lyme's.
If I can't be sure I'm not going to catch something I'm just going to make all the meat into jerky, render all the fat down, and make a ton of pemmican.
Thanks.

[RawZi]

The meat in pemmican and jerky are still raw.

I don't know what to tell you.  I only tried deer from a deer farm so far, and I disliked it.

I'm hoping to soon try some hunted stuff, so maybe we'll talk later.

I do live in Lyme's region.  I will eat my meat raw, as always, as long as raw meat exists.  I feel unwell to eat jerky.  The farm was local too.

[djr_81]

The meat in pemmican and jerky are still raw.

I feel that between the dessication when drying the meat, the subsequent shredding of the meat into powder, and then the encapsulating in fat will have the best chance to render the spirochete harmless while not cooking the meat.

Frankly, my stomach acid is enough to take care of the spirochete but I still worry about the errant sore in the mouth or something else that could provide an avenue for the spirochete to infect.

[RawZi]

Frankly, my stomach acid is enough to take care of the spirochete but I still worry about the errant sore in the mouth or something else that could provide an avenue for the spirochete to infect.

Raw animal protein in it's natural state nourishes and builds my passive immune system.  Worry looks to rip it down.  But then my stomach started out as far back as I could remember low acid.  I had lupus, I'm not a total stranger to sores in the mouth.