You have to open the bucktails up and take the bone out and remove all the flesh and fat. Use a dull knife or some sort of rough spoon to scrape the fat and flesh away from the skin. An old serrated knife is excellent to deal with skins and tails.
Wash the tail with a good detergent and hot water. Let it soak overnight, changing the water if it gets really dirty. When the skin is wet, you can easily see any remaining fat or flesh, which will need to be scraped off.
Tack open the flesh and coat with a liberal amount of borax (20 Mule Team borax at your local supermarket or household supply store). Store in a dry place and check the borax for it getting crusty. You might have to change it a few times before the skin totally cures.
When it's dry, you should be all set. Better to let it sit under the borax for too long rather than too short, to ensure the skin has completely cured.
If after a while the tail starts to stink, chances are there was some fat or flesh left behind. You'll have to clean that out and try again.
That's about all there is to it. I'm sure you could just de-fat them and hang them to dry, but I like to wash them and use borax. The borax really cures them well, and the washing makes them much easier to use.
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