Yes about a pound of beef fat to every 5lbs of meat. I add a combo of pork fat and beef fat to the mixes that I intend to use as meatballs or meatloaf. And if using for taco's or chilie I leave it out.

I don't age my deer any longer than it takes me to get back to the truck and get my kill pack. Inside my kill packI have a tablecloth (to put the meat on so it doesn't get leaves and dirt on it), a box of gallon baggies, a knife sharpener (the knife is on my belt), a sharpie pen or magic marker to label the gallon baggies, 3 more empty backpacks, a gambrel to hang the deer, a hoist (those little cheap things made of parachute chord really work good),and some rope.

When either my hunting partner or I kill a deer,one of usretreives the kill pack from the truck while the other guts the deer, then we hang the deer from the nearest tree, skin the deer, and cut all of the meat off of the bone. Then we loadthe gallon baggies of meatinto the backpacks and carrythem to the truck where I have a couple of icechests full of milk jugs in which I have filled with water and frozen in my freezer. I put the meat in the icechests and when we get to town we buy regular ice to chill the meat faster.

I usually have the meat cut up, labeled and in the freezer within a few days after arriving home. I prefer my meat fresh instead of aged and besides that, I am getting to d*** old to drag a deer 3/4's of a mile to the nearest road. Walking out with my bow, binoculars, fanny pack, and 2 backpacks of meat is enough to wear me out, let lone trying to drag a deer out. PS, we can usually do all of the abovein just over an hour from shot to icechest, unless bloodtrailing the deer is difficult. Happy Hunting

Ever wonder why you bring a deer in to the butcher in November, but don't get it back until April?

How long do you think your butcher keeps your deer uncut? A day, a week, a month. Most don't do any processing of any deer until a few weeks after deer season ends which if you brought your deer in on the first day your deer would be hanging for overtwo month's. They do freeze or refigerate it whole though. The skin acts like a big wrapper. Not saying I do this, but I do know of lockers that do and the StateInspectors know about it because theytold me about it.

I am lucky as my friend has a walk-in cooler so i hang mine up to two weeks, with thehide on,and i personally think it makes a big difference if you let them hang at least a week..years ago before i had use of a cooler i would ice them down for two or three days and that worked pretty good..