deer ribs, it worked!

[western woodsman]

I have been scared off trying to cook deer ribs by many sources, usually there is mentions of how awful deer fat tastes etc or other. Anyway I have prepared ribs tonight and they were great! This was one side of ribs from a fallow doe that was quite fat. The basic recipe went:

cut ribs into manageable pieces
dry coat in favourite spice mix
quick sear the outside meaty side of the pieces in a pan with garlic and olive oil
place in foil 'containers' in a pan oiled up a little to prevent sticking and pour in a dash of beer and few more piece of garlic
slow cook for 1.5- 2 hours adding more beer or basting if you have to
pull out and coat with barbecue sauce
grill up, once sauced is melted into meat
serve

I ate with lentils fried up a bit in the same pan and doused with some of the rib juice in the bottom of the foil 'containers'

The meat on the outside carmelised nicely, all the fat pretty much drain out of the layers.

This has heartened me to experiment with other less loved parts! and not to waste!

They did not taste like pork or beef so do not expect that, the rendered carmelised meat though was addictive.

 

[bogtrotter]

I think the main reason that deer fat is described as awful is because it has a higher melting point than say beef fat,
because it has a higher melting point it can in fact solidify in the mouth which is not a pleasant sensation nor taste.

 

[western woodsman]

Maybe it is the quality of the fat like you say, but I think it is expectation too. SO maybe I am hinting at an acquired taste. But I do like it! I am not sure about deer fat melting point though? Once melted it not resolidify all that easily and it does not get that thick white lard quality. I would be interested to know about the health aspects of different fats. I can't help thinking this has got to better for me than good old pork fat however tasty that might be. One other interesting part of the cooking was that the rib meat almost seems to gather up upon cooking mainly to the outside of the ribs, I guess all ribs do that. But you think with deer you are getting a whole piece of meat that is not true in the end.

 

[Andy7mm]

I have cut roe neck in to 2 or 3 pieces to be used for soup or stock and i think this is the best way as it is much faster than striping the neck down, it make a great pot of soup and the bones are a good size so you can fish them without any problem.

Andy7mm

 

[Trevor.]

Lovely ribs.

 

[Steyer 6.5]

They look tasty!

 

[basil]

If you don`t succeed, try again.
There are no hard and fast rules to a recipe, use it to your advantage.