Need help processing guinea...what to do with all the fat??

[sred98]

I had to kill one of my guineas, and thought I would see how it tastes. There is a LOT of yellow fat inside. Do I pull it? Leave it? I haven't found ANY help online with this. Everything says process them like a chicken. Ok...my chickens I've killed aren't this fat! It kind of reminds me of goose fat. Just rich yellow fat, but I don't know if it will give the meat a strong taste, or what?

Also, how long after you kill one can you eat it? He is resting in cold water right now, but I am getting ready to do the salt water treatment. I had thought about eating him tonight, but realized he should probably sit up for a few days. He is about 6-7 months old.

Thanks!

Shelly

 

[sred98]

Ok...I've looked all over the internet.

Why does it say the guineas are lean? Mine is full of yellow fat! Is it the meat, itself that is lean? Because I'm pulling more fat out of this thing than I would a goose! Is there something wrong with it, or was he just a pig?? I need to know if I need to reserve the fat or remove it.

Thanks for any help!

Shelly

 

[srsmith69]

Guineas thrive where a chicken would starve. They eat all the little tiny grass seeds they can find and just hustle for food constantly. Doesn't surprise me they are fatter than your chickens. Its been a long time since I ate one, but I think its a personal call. If you remove the fat from chicken, whatever little there is, then you should remove this as well. I don't think it would give any bad flavor to the meat if left in and should just make the meat more moist. Just my two cents

 

[Germaine_11.20]

I would feed it to the chickens.

 

[sred98]

I think I am going to remove a lot of it. There's gobs.

Even under the skin by the tail. I am really shocked. I had to pull out big fat wads to get the innards! I haven't had to do that with the chickens. They run around so much more than the chickens, I just didn't think they'd be so fat! And he has so much more meat than my roosters his age. Maybe I should be raising these for meat, instead.

Shelly

 

[dancingbear]

I'd save the fat, render it, and try using it to cook with. Fry some potatoes in it. Use it instead of shortening in biscuits. Chicken fat is wonderful for that, and I've been told that dusk and goose fat is, too.

 

[sred98]

I've never rendered fat before, but I'm willing to try it!

Not a bad idea!

Thanks,

Shelly

 

[dancingbear]

Nothing to it, just dice it up, and cook it down in a skillet of saucepan. I cook it down on a medium heat, stirring often, so it doesn't scorch or burn. When solids in the fat get crispy, it's done. Pour it through a strainer into a heat-proof container. I use canning jars. Make sure the jar is warm, though. I set it on the stove top near the burner, so the jar will be warm when I pour the hot grease in. If the jar is cold, it might break.

 

[brandywine]

FWIW, I butchered a bunch of guineas at about the same age as yours, and they had no fat on them that I remember.

They'd been confined for quite a while, too, because they were beating up my chickens.

So I think you just got a little Cartman bird.

Heck, I once butchered a whitetail doe that had a fat covering like a feedlot steer. Weird. No idea how she managed that.

 

[dancingbear]

Brandywine, year before last we got 2 does like that. I was very surprised. I think it was just a good year for the deer, lots of food that year. This year they'll probably be even fatter, around here, there's been so much rain, all the vegetation is really lush.