# Venison ham 1st attempt



## dcrosby007 (Jan 27, 2015)

I probably could have soaked the deer ham in buttermilk longer than 4 days to let it bleed out more but this whole concept was like my prime rib to learn & gain feedback... I used Cherry wood with apple juice on the water pan while each marinated for 2 days on different marinades... I am not a butcher but I attempted to play one & if doing so first rule is keep very sharp blades... Once I cut the meat onto sections & peeled away what I could of the shiny skin it was into Ziploc bags to marinate... I used Teriyaki in one bag, Bone Suckn Sauce in the second & Garlic Chipotle Lime I bought at Sam's club that was sitting on the shelf in the pantry... Sunday I set the smoker up for 225 & commenced to laying the venison on the racks smothering with 2lbs of bacon I buy from Cracker Barrel... Once MES was up to temp I stuck the probes in & let them smoke out... I set the IT to 140 & waited till it was time... Probe #1 went off a few minutes before probe #2 & #3 so I left it in & as Probe#2 was going off at 140 IT probe #1 was around 145... I took the top rack off first while the bottom rack with probe #3 was @ 138 IT... By the time I wrapped the first 2 in pans & foil to transport upstairs for resting probe #3 was singing take me out also... After resting for 30 minutes I pulled out the cutting board correct side this time & started slicing... I kept some thin & some small chunks but still had a lot of blood almost like medium rare... Which if I was doing a prime rib would have been spectacular... I am not sure if this is a good idea with venison or not but for the most part they were pretty juicy & tender... I stuck 1 thick part in the microwave for a few minutes to see if it would dry it up a smidge but not really... I am thinking I will take the medium rare pieces & may slice thin to make jerky... Not sure if I did right or wrong but this was the first & will be attempting more again soon... Suggestions will help because this meat is tough to make non gamey & tender out of all the other meats I have smoked!!!  

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## themule69 (Jan 27, 2015)

It looks tasty from here. Here is my 













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__ themule69
__ Apr 24, 2013






Butchering your own deer is much better than taking it to a processing plant because they don't clean the saws, knives, and cutting boards between your deer and the next. A lot of places don't even give you your deer back. They just weigh it and give you that amount of meat. Now of the gammy and bloody meat issue. A deer needs to be shot and in the cooler or ice chest in 4 hours. It needs to be gutted and washed well. Fallowed by skinning and cooled. If the skin is left on it would spoil in a freezer before it cooled down. It is a fur coat. The gammy taste is from spoiling blood. You should ice it down if you don't have proper refrigeration. Keep the drain open on the chest because brining in bloody water does nothing good for the flavor. Most wild game is over cooked. Medium rare is going to be the best. I know some people won't eat it that way so do what you have to do. I am thinking your probes might be off but more than likely you were not in the center because 135° is medium rare not 145 or what ever it climbed to after you pulled it at 140°.

Happy smoken.

David


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## smokerjim (Jan 28, 2015)

I did a venison leg a few month's ago,i soaked it in pops wet brine for 16 days then smoked it to 155 degrees,then made a glaze with orange juice,brown sugar and ground cloves,put in the oven for about 1 hour ,it came out awesome,


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## dcrosby007 (Jan 28, 2015)

themule69 said:


> It looks tasty from here. Here is my
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I agree on the processing part & soaking... I did let the ham sit on ice in a cooler for a few days with drain open but when I filled with buttermilk I left it closed... I thought the same thing with the temps & cooking time being so short but when I pulled them I confirmed temp with my therma pen & it showed within a degree or 2 of the IT my probes were showing... Think I needed to let it bleed out a little more before soaking or brining maybe??? I also stabbed them with a fork when soaking in the buttermilk  to help them also... Luckily I never noticed a gammy taste so I think I did get that part right... I eat my steaks medium rare so to me I can deal with it but yeas others are quite squeamish... LOL!!! I guess I was concerned being venison & being so bloody it could be a concern... But I agree to keep it tender & for reheating medium rare is the way to go... thanks for the advice & may try going to 145 before pulling next time to dry it up a smidgen more... You think the 225 temp is best or increase it to 250 next time??? Or does it matter???


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## dcrosby007 (Jan 28, 2015)

smokerjim said:


> I did a venison leg a few month's ago,i soaked it in pops wet brine for 16 days then smoked it to 155 degrees,then made a glaze with orange juice,brown sugar and ground cloves,put in the oven for about 1 hour ,it came out awesome,


I have seen a lot of people mentioning brining longer days but I was scared that leaving meat un-frozen that long would spoil it??? I also have seen many recommend Pops brine recipe but I was unprepared when I had the ham dropped off & concerned about it sitting for so long in the fridge or on ice... Did you bacon cover it or just let the glaze marinate it like a ham glaze???


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## smokerjim (Jan 28, 2015)

I smoked the ham with nothing on it,when i pulled it from the smoker i put the glaze over it and put it in the oven,tasted just like ham.pops brine use pink salt to help cure it,and kill off bacteria that spoils meat.i should mention that i did inject the brine along the bone before putting it in for the soak,just helps speed up the process.if this was a fresh killed deer it would take awhile for it to spoil if it is kept cold,and field dressing was done right,


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## dcrosby007 (Jan 28, 2015)

smokerjim said:


> I smoked the ham with nothing on it,when i pulled it from the smoker i put the glaze over it and put it in the oven,tasted just like ham.pops brine use pink salt to help cure it,and kill off bacteria that spoils meat.i should mention that i did inject the brine along the bone before putting it in for the soak,just helps speed up the process.if this was a fresh killed deer it would take awhile for it to spoil if it is kept cold,and field dressing was done right,


Very helpful... My brother killed it & it dropped on the spot, dressed it that morning & dropped it off that same afternoon on ice... I let it sit 1 day before deboning & butchering... So it was fresh for sure... I will try this idea of injection & glaze idea... Never tried it but I think if it has more of a ham appeal more people would entertain the idea of eating it... That may be a bad thing then cause there would be no left overs... I have a glaze packet left over from Thanksgiving that comes with hams wonder if I could cheat & mix that up to use??? Maybe add a little honey??? How much OJ & other ingredients were use din making your glaze...  Haahaa!!!


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## smokerjim (Jan 28, 2015)

it's hard to say exact amounts, i put some oj in a bowl add enough brown sugar to thicken it up  then add a spoonful or two of the ground cloves,you want it where it's on the thick side,i had my family up for the party and my sisters who hate deer meat were eating it,i didn't tell them until after they ate,they said they would've never  of known if i didn't tell them. you could use any glaze you like,the packet you have would do fine,this just happens to be my favorite.


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## dcrosby007 (Jan 29, 2015)

smokerjim said:


> it's hard to say exact amounts, i put some oj in a bowl add enough brown sugar to thicken it up  then add a spoonful or two of the ground cloves,you want it where it's on the thick side,i had my family up for the party and my sisters who hate deer meat were eating it,i didn't tell them until after they ate,they said they would've never  of known if i didn't tell them. you could use any glaze you like,the packet you have would do fine,this just happens to be my favorite.


Thanks for that info I will be trying this idea very soon...


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## dcrosby007 (Jan 29, 2015)

I used cherry wood on this ham would ya'll recommend anything different??? Wonder if that OJ glaze would go well with Orange wood smoke???


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## bmaddox (Jan 30, 2015)

Dcrosby007 said:


> Very helpful... My brother killed it & it dropped on the spot, dressed it that morning & dropped it off that same afternoon on ice... I let it sit 1 day before deboning & butchering... So it was fresh for sure... I will try this idea of injection & glaze idea... Never tried it but I think if it has more of a ham appeal more people would entertain the idea of eating it... That may be a bad thing then cause there would be no left overs... I have a glaze packet left over from Thanksgiving that comes with hams wonder if I could cheat & mix that up to use??? Maybe add a little honey??? How much OJ & other ingredients were use din making your glaze...  Haahaa!!!


I always quarter my dear and put them straight into ice for at least 4 days before butchering any further. I let them go until there is next to no blood in the water. Fresh venison can be kept at refrigerator temps for weeks. Some people do just that to dry age the meat. As for eating venison med-rare, that is the only way to go. If you are sure that the meat was properly handled and cooled then you could actually eat it raw. A lot of people use the guidelines that they are accustomed to for beef and apply them to venison. The difference between the two is that the beef at the store was slaughtered days or weeks before you even buy it. I have not smoked a ham yet but I have cut it up and grilled it and it always come out tender when cooked to med-rare. Good luck on your next try.


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## smokerjim (Jan 30, 2015)

cherry sounds good,i usually use apple and hickory mixed,i like most woods except mesquite,some reason i don't like it.


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