# venison question?



## lennyluminum (Nov 6, 2011)

I want to smoke a whole backstrap but don't want it to be dry.

I was thinking of wrapping the whole thing in bacon and smoking it much like a Boston but. Do you think if I smoke it to 190-200 it Will be fall apart like the pork or will it dry out?

also should I put the rub on the meat or the bacon or both?


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## drb111 (Nov 6, 2011)

it will dry out...no question.  You only want to smoke a backstrap or venison roast to about 145 internal for medium rare to medium.  It is wonderful and juicy.  I soak mine in a soy based marinade overnight...air dry to room temp and smoke at 225 with a small amount of hickory. remove when internal hits 145.  slice and enjoy.  It won't last 10 minutes...serve with a spicy mustard and rolls.  It certainly won't hurt of you drape a couple of strips of bacon over the meat.  Unbelievable...I used to think I was "wasting" a backstrap this way.  This is a wonderful way to cook backstraps and small roasts.  I use Allegro hot n spicy marinade.


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## pineywoods (Nov 6, 2011)

I agree 190-200 would make it very dry. I use either Allegro or MoJo to marinade mine in I usually marinade 14-18 hours then I smoke to an internal of 140.  I have just draped bacon over it and that works as well


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## lennyluminum (Nov 8, 2011)

ok sounds good


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## michael ark (Nov 8, 2011)

I would inject with garlic butter and cover with bacon cook till well done.With cdw and all the other wild deer diease.http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/cwd/  or this http://www.cdc.gov/search.do?q=deer+diseases&spell=1&ie=utf8You You don't want to be the first in your  county.http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/health-disease/cwd/


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## drb111 (Nov 9, 2011)

michael ark said:


> I would inject with garlic butter and cover with bacon cook till well done.With cdw and all the other wild deer diease.http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/cwd/  or this http://www.cdc.gov/search.do?q=deer+diseases&spell=1&ie=utf8You You don't want to be the first in your  county.http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/health-disease/cwd/


Yeah...my advice to the poster was assuming his deer is among the 99%+ of the national population that does not have the disease.


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## mballi3011 (Nov 9, 2011)

I'm with Jerry on this one and think you should not take it to 190°-200° unless you need new shoes soles. I also recommend to take it to 140°ish is good with a bacon wrap is another good thing.


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## Bearcarver (Nov 9, 2011)

What Piney & Mark said.

Bear


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## smokeamotive (Nov 9, 2011)

I grill mine to 140-145ish marinaded in allegro. 190-200 would just ruin a perfectly wonderfull piece of heaven.


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## lennyluminum (Nov 10, 2011)

Ok I will soak in allegro over night thne smoke till 140-145 slice and serve!! Thank guys

Hey piney you still doin the get togethers at your place in North fl?


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## pineywoods (Nov 10, 2011)

Yes we are here's a link to the next one

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/112689/official-smf-n-fl-gathering-april-13th-14th-and-15th-2012


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## ronnies (Nov 14, 2011)

My family is wanting me to smoke a couple of deer hindquarters for Thanksgiving.  One is going to be on the bone and the other is going to be cut off into roasts.

Any suggestions?  Should I pull them off the smoker when it reaches 150 internal?


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## pineywoods (Nov 14, 2011)

Personally I would consider either brining them or draping bacon over them and I would pull them at 140-145 then foil and allow to rest in a dry warm cooler for about an hour before slicing


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## ronnies (Nov 14, 2011)

Thanks, will upload pics after i cook them next week.


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## coffee_junkie (Nov 14, 2011)

I would personally recommend de-boning, there is a reason that when you get a deer cut and wrapped professionally it doesn't include any "bone in cuts" The bones will not add a positive flavor as with domestic animals. I also trim all of the fat and silverskin from any roasts. Like pineywoods said pull them when they reach 140-145 max. Draping is bacon always helps from drying out, but is not totally necessary. Wild game always dries out and tastes like liver if you over cook it. Medium Rare is best.


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## rbranstner (Nov 14, 2011)

coffee_junkie said:


> I would personally recommend de-boning, there is a reason that when you get a deer cut and wrapped professionally it doesn't include any "bone in cuts" The bones will not add a positive flavor as with domestic animals. I also trim all of the fat and silverskin from any roasts. Like pineywoods said pull them when they reach 140-145 max. Draping is bacon always helps from drying out, but is not totally necessary. Wild game always dries out and tastes like liver if you over cook it. Medium Rare is best.




I'm totally with you. The thought of that bone and tallow flavoring the meat makes my stomach turn. We cut off all the tallow and all of the tendon/silver skin that we can unless we are grinding it then we will leave some of the silver skin. Everyone is different and some people like that but my family can't stand it.


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## Bearcarver (Nov 15, 2011)

rbranstner said:


> I'm totally with you. The thought of that bone and tallow flavoring the meat makes my stomach turn. We cut off all the tallow and all of the tendon/silver skin that we can unless we are grinding it then we will leave some of the silver skin. Everyone is different and some people like that but my family can't stand it.


Absolutely agree on the Tallow!!!

When I was a kid, my Dad used to leave a lot of fat on his Deer. Then after Dinner, we kids could scrape the wax off the roofs of our mouths with our fingernails!!!!

We all hated that. A cold drink would make it worse. Then we would drink hot tea to try to melt it, and get rid of it. I guess it would coat our stomachs then???

Deer fat is disgusting!

Bear


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## smokeamotive (Nov 15, 2011)

I have to agree with Coffee Junkie,Rbranstner and Bear. Deer fat (tallow) and bone do not impart anything that I would call savory to the finished product. Venison needs to have all fat and bone removed and trimed of all major tendons and silverskin to allow the desireable favors to come out. I never take my deer to a processor. For a number of reasons, but foremost is the trim that I put on all the meat.


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## ronnies (Nov 15, 2011)

I process all my deer and always try to get all the silver skin, and the only bone pieces I have is a neck usually. The one on the bone happens to be my grandparents and they want it on the bone (said how they used to do it in the 40s/50s).  I think on that one I am going to rub it down like I did the 1/2 goat.  Smoke it for 2-3 hours then put it in a pan, cover it with onions, and use a mop/spray mixture on it, then cover the pan with aluminum foil and check it every 1 hour till the internal temp hits 145. 

Thanks for all the suggestions.


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## sahara tan (Nov 23, 2011)

I usually grill Venison, going to try smoke for the first time tonight. I usually marinate in Crown Royal for 24 hours, the last 6 hours I pour in some A1 and Tobasco Sauce.


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## tt ace (Nov 23, 2011)

It seems to me that you are overpowering the meat taste.  You will lose the taste of the venison. I would advise to do something more subtle such as an Herb/Garic Marinade and then slow smoke it with an Oak or Hickory smoke with maybe a touch of fruit wood smoke.  I have eaten venison many ways and it is easy to get carried away with the extras which actually take away the excellent taste of the venison.   The Crown Royal would work great as a preliminary marinade mixed with the Herb/Garlic.  The A1 and Tabasco Sauce tend to overpower the taste.  Use a good rub in place of those.  Just my opinion,


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## sahara tan (Nov 23, 2011)

TT Ace said:


> The A1 and Tabasco Sauce tend to overpower the taste.  Use a good rub in place of those.  Just my opinion,




They can be overpowering, I have been using this marinade for the last 20 years. In the beginning the A1 was way to much, I later started adding the CR and it seems to lessen the effect of the A1. I like the A1 because it seems to lessen the "gamey" taste. I have experimented with others but always come back to this.


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## Bearcarver (Nov 24, 2011)

Sahara Tan said:


> They can be overpowering, I have been using this marinade for the last 20 years. In the beginning the A1 was way to much, I later started adding the CR and it seems to lessen the effect of the A1. I like the A1 because it seems to lessen the "gamey" taste. I have experimented with others but always come back to this.


When it comes to Venison, everybody seems to have even a larger variety of methods than with domestic meats.

I think I would try some of the Crown Royal later in the recipe. Maybe on the side, after the meal?   
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Bear


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## pit 4 brains (Nov 25, 2011)

Here's a little something I like to do with my elk meat.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/87050/elk-backstraps


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## ronnies (Nov 27, 2011)

Deer came out good. One deer ham was a little tough but that was from an old buck.  Everyone seemed to like it and that is what counts.


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## owlcreeksmoker4 (Nov 27, 2011)

def cut the bone out and remove as much fat as possible, i have to agree on the temp of 140* too


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