# Venison Back Straps



## lakeeriearms (Feb 20, 2011)

Decided to give these a try, i brined them using tender quick for about 12 hrs, it said overnight but i couldn't wait. Next i rinsed them and started w/ the rub, some steak seasoning, cay. pep., paprika, and others, had a half pkg of bacon from a friends pig that it attemp. to wrap them w/ to keep the moisture but it fell off, i set the smoker to 220 and let the temp hit 135*, i pulled them and wrapped them in foil and towels, then put them into a cooler as stated in other treads to keep the heat/mois. in. I will send finished shots but heres the beginning.


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## lakeeriearms (Feb 20, 2011)

ok just finished them, came out ok, the skinnier ones were very salty, not sure if i brined them too long, if next time i should just soak in milk to get some of the blood out, kinda mushy too, just worried about it being raw, i have never had this way b4, i know that pastrami is the same and roast beef, i might try to throw it on the grill to finish them off, crisp them up a bit, thanks for looking.


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## jerseyhunter (Feb 21, 2011)

I'm thinking the wrapping in foil made them mushy, Unless you were eating them warm. I brine like trout + cure, smoke, cool and slice.


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## adiochiro3 (Feb 21, 2011)

We love smoking our venison.  I never foil -- just take 'em right to the medium rare, rest it a bit, carve & serve.  Butts are really great smoked as well.  And don't forget to jerk some -- fan-dang-tastic!


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## tony111 (Feb 25, 2011)

Nice looking straps. I have had the same problem with the salty taste . I now soak mine in cold water for at least 45 min. to equalize the salt just before smoking.  It really seems to help. I slice it real thin and pile in on the sammies. Good luck


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## cowgirl (Feb 25, 2011)

Looks great!!  I agree with Tony on the longer soaks.. also the smaller pieces probably don't need to be cured overnight.. just a few hours.  It all looks fantastic!!!


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## rbranstner (Feb 25, 2011)

That looks awesome!


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## tyotrain (Feb 25, 2011)

Man that look good.. great job


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## Bearcarver (Feb 25, 2011)

lakeeriearms said:


> Decided to give these a try, i brined them using tender quick for about 12 hrs, it said overnight but i couldn't wait. Next i rinsed them and started w/ the rub, some steak seasoning, cay. pep., paprika, and others, had a half pkg of bacon from a friends pig that it attemp. to wrap them w/ to keep the moisture but it fell off, i set the smoker to 220 and let the temp hit 135*, i pulled them and wrapped them in foil and towels, then put them into a cooler as stated in other treads to keep the heat/mois. in. I will send finished shots but heres the beginning.


That looks mighty tasty!!!

You said, "It said overnight, but I couldn't wait."

Who is " It " ?  Where did you get the recipe?

I'm always looking for Great things to do with TQ, and this looks Great!

Thanks,

Bear


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## lakeeriearms (Mar 7, 2011)

i followed the mortons tq inst. on the back of the package, plus i looked around on here a bit, norm. i wouldn't cure them but i was just looking for different ways, even though they looked raw they are safe to eat right? the cure makes them safe as i assumed. at the low temps i couldn't get my bacon to cook, and i was afraid as i have read on here to turn up the heat to cook the bacon b/c i felt that the extra heat would over cook the meat, so far  i have been really good at chickens, just have to work on the red meats, thanks for all the comments, lastly do you guys ever close your vent part. or leave it fully open, i found that the smoke sticks in longer if it is 1/4 closed, all the way open it seems to just roll out, i just don't want creo. to build up, should never close it 3/4 right? thanks


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## que-ball (Mar 7, 2011)

I never close my exhaust vent even a little bit while the smoke is rolling.  If I'm doing something like summer sausage that gets cold smoke and then a higher temp to cook to temperature, I will close the exhaust vent if necessary after removing the smoke pan in order to get the higher chamber temp I need at the end.  180*F chamber temp can be hard to come by in FrankenFridge when the outside temp is -30*F.


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## Bearcarver (Mar 7, 2011)

lakeeriearms said:


> i followed the mortons tq inst. on the back of the package, plus i looked around on here a bit, norm. i wouldn't cure them but i was just looking for different ways, even though they looked raw they are safe to eat right? the cure makes them safe as i assumed. at the low temps i couldn't get my bacon to cook, and i was afraid as i have read on here to turn up the heat to cook the bacon b/c i felt that the extra heat would over cook the meat, so far  i have been really good at chickens, just have to work on the red meats, thanks for all the comments, lastly do you guys ever close your vent part. or leave it fully open, i found that the smoke sticks in longer if it is 1/4 closed, all the way open it seems to just roll out, i just don't want creo. to build up, should never close it 3/4 right? thanks


If you followed their instructions with their cure, and then took them to 135˚ by using 220˚ smoker temp, they should be safe to eat.

That doesn't sound like long enough curing time to do a long low & slow smoke, but you used 220˚, and must have gotten to 135˚ in less than 4 hours, because they aren't very big, so I can't see a problem there at all.

Looks Great !

Bear


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