# Venison Questions



## biggie (Jul 25, 2009)

My friend's dad has a 18-25 lb. hindquarter (bone-in), that he would like smoked. Having never worked with venison, I don't want to mess this up. I assume given that venison is pretty lean, I will have to brine/marinade it. Anyone have any favorites?

Also, what temp should I take it to? I'm used to doing my beef/pork to 190, but don't know if venison can take that without drying out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## tasunkawitko (Jul 25, 2009)

i did some deer tenderloins last year and tehy turned out very good and very intersting. i didn't brine or marinade, but i did mop often with an oil-based mop. if i remember correctly, the meat was "pullable" at 172 degrees.

here's the thread:

http://www.baitshopboyz.com/forum/fo....asp?TID=14935

with a whole quarter, i imagine that the principles would be the same - just keep your smoking temp low and keep the meat moist. foiling might be a good idea as well.


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## tasunkawitko (Jul 25, 2009)

correction - internal temperature might have been a little lower than 172, but i am sure that it was higher than 145. 160 should be fine as long as your heat is low and your mop has an oil base.


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## oneshot (Jul 25, 2009)

Hey Biggie, I have a queation for you. Where was the deer harvested???
If it was taken in a state that has CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) it is suggested NOT to cook or eat venison with the bone in. You would need to debone the meat 1st and then cook it. In those areas you don't even want to cut the bone as you could contaminate the meat that way too.


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## tasunkawitko (Jul 25, 2009)

all of my deer is boneless, but oneshot does bring up a valid concern. 

the bone isn't the problem, it is spinal fluid, so as long as the quarter doesn't contain any oprtion of the spine (it shouldn't) it is fine. if it does contain a portion of the spine (this is possibile) and it came from a state or area with confirmed cases of CWD, then you should take that into consideration. 

i am not saying to throw the whole thing out, but if it were me i would remove any portion that contains the spine.


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## mballi3011 (Jul 25, 2009)

I've never heard of CWD but I'm not the hunter I'm the chef. I marinade venison (it was still kill not run with dogs) in Italian dressing overnight. I wrap it or lay bacon over the meat so it won't dry out and smoke it at 230-245. I mop or spirtz with a vingar based solution after the first hour and every hour till done. take it to about 145-160 and then let it cool or wrap it in foil then a towel and throw it in a cooler. for an hour or so. While the meats in the cooler tell everyone how good it's gonna be and by the time its ready to come out they all will be drooling and ready to eat they hand. So go for it and don't worry you'll do just fine.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			





PS Don't forget the Qview


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## meat hunter (Jul 25, 2009)

No need to brine or marinate. Use a good rub on your venison. Smoke it at 225-240 degrees and bring to an internal temp of 160. Go out and get yourself some marichino cherries and empty the juice out of it. Mix an equal about of water with it. You can also use grenadine syrup mixed with equal amounts of water. Use that as your mop/spray and apply to the meat every 30-60 minutes until your internal temp reads 160 degrees. Remove venison from the smoker and wrap in foil then in several towels and let sit for at least an hour, 2-3 if you can keep it warm. I use an old picnic cooler with an old down pillow on the bottom then the meat I just smoked then another pillow on top of that. Keeps meat hot for HOURS. 
Here is a good rub to try.
1/2 cup    kosher salt
1/3 cup    sugar in the raw
2/3 cup    brown sugar
2 T         granulated garlic
2 T         granulated onion
2 T         paprika
1 T         chili powder
2 T        black pepper
1T         ground thyme
1 T        ground cumin
1t        ground nutmeg
2t        cayenne pepper

I would not worry about CWD,(chronic wasting disease) unless the shot was thru the spine and into the meat, and even then, I would not be overly concerned. CWD had  more hype behind it due largely in part to the animal rights groups in an attempt to hinder hunting and venison processors. In fact, animal rights groups convinced our Department of natural resources to empty 10 of thousands of pounds of vension off the food shelves that were donated by hunters for the hungry. CWD has been around since the dawn of time and if you look at whats injected into store bought beef, CWD would seem like the next best thing to buying organic LOL.


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## oneshot (Jul 25, 2009)

I've been eatin deer (venison) since I was knee high to a tick. LMAO
I'm still kickin, just not as hard these days. So there shouldn't be a problem, but if someone wants to learn a little more about CWD here is a link from the Illinois Dept. of Agriculture on the subject.

http://agr.state.il.us/AnimalHW/cwd/


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## biggie (Jul 26, 2009)

The deer was shot in MA, and my buddy's Dad said there shouldn't be anything to worry about (according to google, there haven't been any reported cases in New England). So, the general consensus is there is no need to brine, but I'll probably wrap it, and I might even pull out the injector to get some more fat/moisture in there. I'll start checking around 160 or so to see how tender it is.

Of course, there will be Q-view


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## pineywoods (Jul 26, 2009)

Personally I like them a bit more on the rare side I take it to 145-150. I like a marinade in Allegro tho I have injected with cajun injector marinades before with good results.


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## smokeamotive (Jul 26, 2009)

I'm with Piney, 145 - 150 ought to be good. Get too much higher and the meat starts to dry out. And the Allegro marinade (hickory smoke flavor) is awesome. I like to take a backstrap steak and marinade it in this and cook to medium rare. Heaven on a plate!!!


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## tasunkawitko (Jul 26, 2009)

sounds like you're good to go with no CWD worries - i say smoke away and enjoy!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





just FYI - brining doens't do anything for CWD, neither does cooking.


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