Deer shoulder with white bbq sauce on the WSM

johnh12 · Nov 28, 2017

Thanks.
I've never had much luck with venison other than chili or stew. I think I must be over cooking it.

yankee2bbq · Nov 28, 2017

SmokenGrampie said:
Getting ready to smoke my first venison rump roast pretty good size. Do you recommend the same procedure as doing the shoulder?

Yes, comes out even better than the shoulder. I have smoked the whole hind quarter(pushing 12 lbs) And I doubled my white sauce recipe. And doubled my rub recipe.

SmokenGrampie · Nov 28, 2017

The cut of meat I have is the entire butt includes all three roasts, was just going to smoke them all together.

tallbm said:
Hi there and welcome!
To my knowledge there are 3 real roasts in the back leg. Which one are you looking to smoke?
All 3 are quite lean.

johnh12 · Nov 28, 2017

I would like to try it but have never been a big fan of the white sauce.
Have you done it with any other sauces?

yankee2bbq · Nov 28, 2017

I have altered the white sauce recipe, used less vinegar, added sugar, used cranberry juice in place of apple juice.

SmokenGrampie · Nov 28, 2017

johnh12 said:
Thanks.
I've never had much luck with venison other than chili or stew. I think I must be over cooking it.

this is the first time smoking venison. I do a mean smoked turkey and pork loins.

tallbm · Nov 28, 2017

SmokenGrampie said:
The cut of meat I have is the entire butt includes all three roasts, was just going to smoke them all together.

Hmmm. I think that if you smoke it to 145-160F then you may have a better cut of meat.

USDA says 160F is what wild game Internal Temperature (IT) should be, though I've heard people say that rare to med-rare for venison is the only way to go. I try to grill to a medium rare to barely medium temp when I make Venison Fajitas out of the top and/or bottom round roasts (both from the back leg).

If you go for pulled pork 205F or higher IT, I fear it may be dry. There is little to no fat on deer or in those muscles. There will be some connective tissue in those roasts but not much.

If you smoke/braise like yankee2bbq does in the original post of this thread then I think you will have no problem.

I guess the question is what are you looking to get out of this smoke? (pulled meat like pork butt, sliced like brisket, ham like cured holiday pork hams, Prime Rib-like roast, etc, etc. etc.???)

SmokenGrampie · Nov 28, 2017

tallbm said:
Hmmm. I think that if you smoke it to 145-160F then you may have a better cut of meat.

USDA says 160F is what wild game Internal Temperature (IT) should be, though I've heard people say that rare to med-rare for venison is the only way to go. I try to grill to a medium rare to barely medium temp when I make Venison Fajitas out of the top and/or bottom round roasts (both from the back leg).

If you go for pulled pork 205F or higher IT, I fear it may be dry. There is little to no fat on deer or in those muscles. There will be some connective tissue in those roasts but not much.

If you smoke/braise like yankee2bbq does in the original post of this thread then I think you will have no problem.

I guess the question is what are you looking to get out of this smoke? (pulled meat like pork butt, sliced like brisket, ham like cured holiday pork hams, Prime Rib-like roast, etc, etc. etc.???)

This was great info, thanks. I guess I am was thinking sliced like a brisket. I thought about pulled but would have to use too much sauce because of the dryness and lose the flavor of the venison.

yankee2bbq · Nov 28, 2017

It's all about time. Like tallbm posted, it’s about how long you keep it on the smoker. I did a deer ham in the past, didn’t want it like “pulled pork” so I took it off the smoker earlier than normally because I wanted to slice it like brisket, and it turned out great. The white sauce was not over powering. Did it mask the deer flavor? Alittle, more so on a deer shoulder. Maybe use less white sauce when covering in pan. Hope this helps.

tallbm · Nov 28, 2017

I know that feral hogs and deer are different animals but know that I cured and smoked 2 back legs of a feral hog for Thanksgiving hams and I took them to 165F (must do with wild pork for parasite risks). The meat was very tender and easily edible.

I would assume that at the same temps you will have the same tenderness from the deer.
I know I have no issues with 1 inch steaks out of the top and bottom round roasts which I marinate and grill to medium rare.

I know the same roasts including the chuck/sirloin tip roast can be cooked to pull apart tenderness as oven roasts so they should be able to be smoked to that temp BUT they are usually very dry/lean even when cooked with the liquid and such.
With my limited experiences I would lean away from cooking to a high IT unless you do a braised style cook.

On the other hand give it a try and if it fails you can always throw the meat into beans or chili or shred and doctor up with BBQ sauce to make bbq tacos with a squeeze of lime! :)

yankee2bbq · Nov 28, 2017

Check this out. Beef broth injected deer shoulder. Smoked it like a brisket.

tallbm · Nov 28, 2017

yankee2bbq said:
Check this out. Beef broth injected deer shoulder. Smoked it like a brisket.

Nice that is one hell of a smoke ring! :)

the-bone · Dec 2, 2017

what exactly is white sauce and what is the recipe...your shoulder looks great as does the brisket style deer...just killed 2 deer so have to start trying different ways of cooking it

ghostguy6 · Dec 11, 2017

yankee2bbq said:
I have altered the white sauce recipe, used less vinegar, added sugar, used cranberry juice in place of apple juice.

Would you mind sharing the recipe? It sounds like it might taste good on a moose roast.

yankee2bbq · Dec 12, 2017

ghostguy6 said:
Would you mind sharing the recipe? It sounds like it might taste good on a moose roast.

Basic white sauce recipe (Chris Lilly recipe)
2 cups mayo
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 apple juice
2 teaspoons horseradish
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

You can make the recipe your own. Like I stated above.

Deer shoulder with white bbq sauce on the WSM

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