Venison. Its whats for dinner!

[mdwest]

Was a beautiful day here... so I fired up the smoker about 10AM and slow cooked a deer leg all afternoon while working (pretty cool being able to cook dinner while simultaneously getting a paycheck!)...

Turned out beautiful....

Brown rice, sweet peppers & onions, and a broccoli/bacon salad are all being prepped now...

yum!

 

[mistaforty]

Is there a grilling thread? Lol summers comin!

 

[Robertsndr68]

You work for BlackWater right Dave? Lol

 

[CATom]

How does venison take to smoking? Being so lean I would imagine it dries out really bad if your not careful.... Not like a pork shoulder that can practically baste itself for hours! Just curious.. My favorite way to prepare venison is with peppers, onion, and tomato with backstrap served over rice. great now I'm drooling uncontrollably!

 

[FuenteSmoker]

Ahhnh I'm going to need you to go ahead and flat rate me a small bite of that.........Thank you

 

[mdwest]

You work for BlackWater right Dave? Lol

I can honestly say I have never worked for blackwater/Xe

I did run the global security program for one of their chief competitors from 2007-2010 though

 

[mdwest]

How does venison take to smoking? Being so lean I would imagine it dries out really bad if your not careful.... Not like a pork shoulder that can practically baste itself for hours! Just curious..

youre absolutely right.. you do have to watch it pretty closely..

I give the leg a 36 hour soaking in olive oil (and other stuff).. and keep it basted throughout the entire process (mopp it about once an hour).. I also use a syringe and inject the meat with marinade several hours prior to putting it to the heat..

Youve got to get venison up to a slightly higher internal temp than pork and/or beef to get all the connective tissue to break down as well.. which makes it even more challenging..

but it is sooooooooooooooo worth the extra effort.... Ill put smoked deer hind quarter up against smoked beef brisket any day of the week if its done right..


I do the same thing you do with backstrap.. I do sweet peppers and onions.. and serve it over long grain brown rice.... yum!

 

[Robertsndr68]

I knew it!

 

[mdwest]

not sure what gave it away?

maybe the thread where "exporting defense services and products" was mentioned?

could be the use of a crusaders cross as an avatar too I guess...

 

[Robertsndr68]

Ah I never saw that thread lol I figured that or cia

 

[Martin3203]

Haha, great minds think alike. I've had chops in my freezer that a friend gave me. Finally got em out tonight to thaw an make stew with them for tomorrow. First time doing this. Wish me luck!!

 

[mdwest]

hang on to those bad boys until I get to PA for cigarfest... and Ill show you how to make them into a stew (at the expense of 1 chop )....

 

[Martin3203]

Ill have to get some more

 

[Rupe]

Let me know if you need to re-stock. I have an ample supply in my back yard.

This is roughly 10' outside my back patio door. That spot is right where my grill sits in the summer

 

[mdwest]

Any chance you can fit that small doe in a flat rate box? I'll pay the shipping!

I think I've got enough to last me until next season....

But saying you have enough deer... Is kinda like saying you have enough cigars...

That's just crazy talk....

 

[thejavaman]

Maybe I've never had deer prepared properly, but the few times I've eaten it (steaks, I believe), I thought is was tough & pretty much flavorless.

 

[mdwest]

I dont do deer steaks.. the little whitetails we have on this end of the country arent big enough to get a thick cut of meat out of them.. and the meat is so lean that grilling a steak would be really hard to do and not turn the meat into shoe leather..

when I process a deer I normally pull out the backstraps.. cut out the two hind quarters... and then pull out the meat along the neck... the rest gets ground up to be used in jerky, sausage, and to make chili, spaghetti, etc (same things you would make with ground beef)..

the hind quarters get cooked whole.. either slow smoked.. or slow roasted in the oven...

the backstraps get cut into medalions... and are either served the way described above.. or Ill slow cook them in a crock pot with a gravy that keeps them moist....

the meat along the neck gets cut into strips, pounded out to tenderise them, then get battered and fried... served like chicken fingers/steak fingers...

damn... now Im hungry again..

time for some deer leftovers!

 

[Martin3203]

I'll deff take some more if ya don't mind bringing it with you. My gf won't eat it, MORE FOR ME!! Lol

I prepared everything last night and threw it in the crock pot to marinade. Took it out this morning and put it on low. Gonna let it cook all day, until I get out of work.