I am a relative newcomer to this board and have recently read a number of posts concerning the preservation of fans. The first thing I read is that I have been doing it all wrong. Many of the posters seem very knowledgeable and they contend that using salt is all wrong. Apparently salt preservation is an invitation to insects and mice.
Maybe I have just been lucky but the fans I have preserved using only salt have all held up perfectly. I have used this approach on over two dozen turkey fans and numerous grouse fans dating back some 40+ years and every one is still in great shape.
To make things worse, I dont even try to get that much meat off. The whole process for me takes less than 20 minutes (plus a month or so for curing).
This is how I do it; First I cut off the butt just below where it spreads. Remove the little fuzzy feathers to expose most of the butt skin. I do remove the meat that comes away easily and score (slice into) the rest to allow the salt to penetrate. I then get a large piece of plywood, put down an inch or so of kosher salt and tnen press the rear side of the butt down on the salt. Drive a nail through the butt into the plywood, making sure you first grease the nail or you will have a tough time removing it later. Sread the fan to its max and hold bottom two tail feathers by hammering in a small nail to act as a stopper. You may need to use additional stoppers to tame unruly feathers but just the two is usually enough. Lay a book or two around the fan for maximum flatness, cover the entire butt area with plenty of salt, work it in a little and you are done.
After a week or so, pile some more salt on, work it in a little and then forget about it for a while. I don' t really know how long it takes to fully cure but I usually give it a at least six weeks (you cant overcure it so why take chances).
The meat portion of the beard should be left in a small container of salt too.
After its complete, superglue a few of the more attractive feather endings (that you put aside when you plucked it) to cover the ugly dry buttmeat (God that sounds awful).
Nail it to the wall, nail the beard directly below it (but still touching) and admire your work. Most of the people who see these mounts like them better than those kits in the catalog, most of which look kind of cheesy...especially those which use plastic heads.
Like I said, a lot of smart people will disagree with this method, but all I can say is that it works great for me.