Lymph Glands in Elk Hind Quarters?

[technicolorcowboy]

Hi Everyone,

My husband got a cow elk already this year, and I am prepping to process the quarters for freezing. Last year he got a couple of mule deer and I know those have the lymph glands in the hind quarters you have to watch out for. My question is do elk have the same thing in generally the same location? I'm having trouble getting straight answer anywhere online.

Thank you and good luck this year.

[Swede]

Welcome to the forum Technicolor. I think you are referring to the tarsal glands. The Lymph glands are inside the head of the critter. Do not touch the tarsal glands to prevent the spread of bacteria. I have killed and butchered over 30 elk and more deer than that. I have never had a problem with tarsal glands. I just skin the legs out being careful not contaminate the meat. It is easier than avoiding cutting or breaking a gut part.

[WapitiTalk1]

Welcome to the forum! Swede is on point with his response.

The actual lymph glands as Swede mentions are more what you check for CWD if I remember correctly.

[RanchoSueno]

They're talking about the gland inside the ham along the femur. We trim it out on goats, deer and cattle when you're breaking the meat down and wrapping/vacuum sealing

[WapitiTalk1]

Right RanchoSueno, it's the tarsal gland she's referring to. Yes, they can get quite pungent, particularly during the breeding season and should be avoided at all costs

[>>>---WW---->]

Right RanchoSueno, it's the tarsal gland she's referring to. Yes, they can get quite pungent, particularly during the breeding season and should be avoided at all costs

Great picture Rory. When I worked for Colorado Parks & wildlife on their CWD project, it was actually the brain stem that they collected to determine if CWD was present.

[Tigger]

I think Rancho is correct. It is not the tarsal she is talking about. It is inside the big muscles on the rear quarter. Yes, it is there and yes you should remove it. It might be another lymph node, but whatever it is called, get rid of it! Same general location as a muley or whitetail.

[Swede]

I did some research on the "lymph" glands inside of the hams of deer and elk. Many hunters including I were not aware of their existence. Some claim they can cause your meat to taste gamey if not removed.
I cannot say what other hunter's experience with lymph glands is, but I have not observed a problem with them. There is one in each ham and each shoulder. The glands are quite small. I separate the ham and shoulder meat into separate muscle groups before dividing up the meat into one-pound packages. By doing that, I either unwittingly remove them, or they don't make a significant difference in the taste of the meat. I say that because I cannot tell the difference between one package of meat and another. I viewed a You Tube video where they were just carved off with the silver skin and fat. I do that as a normal part of preparing all of my meat.

[Elkhunttoo]

I did some research on the "lymph" glands inside of the hams of deer and elk. Many hunters including I were not aware of their existence. Some claim they can cause your meat to taste gamey if not removed.
I cannot say what other hunter's experience with lymph glands is, but I have not observed a problem with them. There is one in each ham and each shoulder. The glands are quite small. I separate the ham and shoulder meat into separate muscle groups before dividing up the meat into one-pound packages. By doing that, I either unwittingly remove them, or they don't make a significant difference in the taste of the meat. I say that because I cannot tell the difference between one package of meat and another. I viewed a You Tube video where they were just carved off with the silver skin and fat. I do that as a normal part of preparing all of my meat.

Hmmm…learn something every day…I trim the fat and slime off of everything but I don’t recall ever hearing anything about the lymph nodes

[WapitiTalk1]

If it’s white or silver, leave it for the yotes, birds, and bears

[Swede]

I did not understand lymph glands until Tigger posted, but it was not problem because I trim out the fat and anything that does not look like good red meat. I have followed the WapitiTalk 1 advise since helping my folks butcher as a teenager. The tarsal gland on the other hand is a little more problematic. There is a lot of bacteria there, especially on bulls which urinate on themselves to smell nice for their girlfriends. Be careful not to contaminate your meat with it.