# Sous Vide and smoked venison backstrap



## bmaddox (Aug 3, 2015)

With the approach of hunting season it is time to clean out the freezer. I still have a few small backstrap steaks so I decided to use my new immersion circulator to sous vide one. I let it hang out in the water bath for 8 hours at 129 degrees. I then smoked it for 30 minutes at 125 followed by a quick reverse sear. It was tender enough to cut with a butter knife and had just enough smoke flavor so you knew it was smoked but it didn't taste like BBQ. 

Vacuum sealed with a little salt, pepper, and rosemary.













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__ bmaddox
__ Aug 3, 2015






I love the Anova circulator. It is leaps and bounds ahead of my old DIY crockpot sous vide machine.













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__ bmaddox
__ Aug 3, 2015






Out of the water bath and ready for smoke













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__ bmaddox
__ Aug 3, 2015






I didn't sear it as much as I would have liked because I was afraid of cooking it to far. 













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__ bmaddox
__ Aug 3, 2015






Plated with Potatoes Au Gratin, steamed broccoli, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. 













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__ bmaddox
__ Aug 3, 2015






Thanks for looking.


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## mummel (Aug 3, 2015)

Amazing.  So my brother in law surprised me with some prime rib from Lobels for my birthday.  I've never heard of the place.  Dont know how he found them.  But this is my plan to do it Sous Vide.  I dont have one of those gizmos.  Im going to try a DIY job on my gas stove and a big pot.  I hope it works.  Never done it using this method but the results look great.  Well done!


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## bmaddox (Aug 3, 2015)

@mummel  if you start to get into sous vide you can build your own machine for $50 or follow Anova on facebook to see when they go on sale. I got mine on sale for $140.

Here is the one I built using some online instructions:













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__ bmaddox
__ Feb 3, 2015


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## mummel (Aug 3, 2015)

Yeah I got to take it slow.  I popped on here in April looking for $100 starter smoker, and now look at my signature.  The addiction is getting out of control hahahaha!  I will try a DIY pot + gas stove and my Mac to see if I can make it work.  If it works and the feedback is great from my family, then I will look more into it.  Yours looked like it came out great!!!!  I'm getting a Foodsaver soon.


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## mdboatbum (Aug 3, 2015)

That venison looks incredible!! I really need to get a deer this year. Last time I went the whole area was overrun with them. Saw a group of about 6 or 8 when I was scouting the day before the opener. Right where I was going to be hunting. Almost hit a doe being chased by a big buck on my way to the blind the next morning. Got to the blind and......nothing. Saw one doe. Didn't have a doe tag.


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## mcgyverism (Aug 10, 2015)

That is so funny you decided to clean out the freezer before deer season.

I did the same thing this weekend.

Since i was smoking ribs anyways, at the end of my ribs smoke, i put two back straps in the smoker at 225, for 45 minutes.

No rub or sauce was applied.  I let the kids try it, and they thought it was Steak!

Had a great Smoke ring, ans tasted even better.













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__ mcgyverism
__ Aug 10, 2015


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## bmaddox (Aug 10, 2015)

There is nothing worse than bringing a deer home and not having enough room for it. Last year I had to keep the buck I got on ice for a few days so I could rearrange everything. Hopefully I will be more on top of it this year.


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## mummel (Aug 10, 2015)

Last week I warmed water in a big pot on my gas stove.  I used my Mav to keep the temps constant.  It took some babying but eventually I had it calibrated.  Man, the prime rib steaks came out perfect!!!!  There was no time for QView.  My family was fighting over the scraps.  I've never had steak this soft before.













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__ mummel
__ Aug 5, 2015


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## 4pogo7 (Oct 15, 2015)

bmaddox said:


> With the approach of hunting season it is time to clean out the freezer. I still have a few small backstrap steaks so I decided to use my new immersion circulator to sous vide one. I let it hang out in the water bath for 8 hours at 129 degrees. I then smoked it for 30 minutes at 125 followed by a quick reverse sear. It was tender enough to cut with a butter knife and had just enough smoke flavor so you knew it was smoked but it didn't taste like BBQ.


I didn't know what sous vide was so I googled it

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide

Very interesting! Since I don't have one of those nifty gizmos either, so I might have to try this sometime with the crock pot method or the gas stove/pot of water method. Looks amazing!


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## bmaddox (Oct 15, 2015)

Here is my first sous vide set up. It is a home made controller built off directions I found online that regulates the temp on a crock pot. It isn't fancy like my new one but it got the job done.













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__ bmaddox
__ Feb 3, 2015


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