# Cured and Smoked Deer Ham



## backyardkcq

Well, it’s hunting season again here in Missouri and this fall weather is just about perfect for sitting outside with an adult beverage watching the smoker. So I’m going to give venison a try on the old Brinkman Pitmaster in celebration.

I’ve been following POPS for a while and have recreated his curing a ham process a few times with excellent success so I thought it would be interesting to give deer haunch a try. Venison is a notoriously difficult meat to work with and its leanness and tendency toward gamey-ness make it a difficult meat for smoking. It can be hard to find resources for curing and smoking a deer ham on the web and frankly it seems as though it just is not done very frequently here in the US. Some of you may disagree and do this all the time. Any tips you’d like to through in are appreciated. I think I will document my attempt here and see how it goes. I am going to combine several processes gleaned from other members of this site and other sources on the web. I will attempt to source and give credit as I go. It will also make it easier for others to tailor the process to their own specific needs as I have done here.

I am starting with two hind haunches (fresh uncured bone in hams)of a white tail button buck (male yearling). I have decided not to remove the lymph nodes located in the hind legs because of the size of the deer and the level of invasiveness in removing them. If you live in an area affected by chronic wasting disease you will not only need to remove the lymph nodes but also fully de-bone the ham. Check your local/state department of conservation or natural resources to determine if you need to follow those steps. Here is a link for further reading http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/zoonoses/cwd.htm

For the curing process I have used POPS' post. This has worked well for me with hog hams and I’m hoping that it will turn out well for venison. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/89979/from-hog-leg-to-easter-ham Pops does an excellent job of detailing the pumping/injecting process necessary in keeping the ham from souring and I will not re-hash it. Below is Pops’ cure and injection recipe. Simple, quick, and effective.

Brine is:

1 gal. cold water

1 cup salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. DQ Cure (or any #1 cure, but not Tenderquick with salt added)

Once injected, put into 5 gal. bucket and cover completely with brine (took 2 3/4 gallons to do so) until ham is floating, then hold down with a gallon ziploc bag half full of water.

I use a clear Rubbermaid container from Wally World. I just put it in the beer fridge in the garage where it won’t bother the wife.













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## backyardkcq

I totally had that all broken up into paragraphs before posting. What happened?


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## pit 4 brains

Interesting. I think I would bone out anyway just to keep that marrow out of my brine. I'll be following this one for sure. Good luck, and thanks for blazing this trail.


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## mike johnson

Sounds great. I cant wait to see the finished product.


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## woodcutter

Venison ham would be interesting. How long do you think you will brine it?


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## backyardkcq

These two hams weighed about 7 and a half pounds a piece. So most websites (including Pops' thread) recommend brining 1.5 days per pound of meat for wet curing. I plan on keeping these in the cure in the fridge for abound 10 days. I rotate them every couple of days so there are no pressure points where cure isn't reaching.

I should also note that I made an effort to remove the slimy fat film that covers the meat. With a young animal you can simply pull the film away. I've been told by some folks who are experienced deer butchers that removing that film becomes much more difficult as the animal gets older.


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## backyardkcq

I haven't heard that marrow in the brine is bad with the exception of CWD affected animals. Is it something to be avoided for other reasons?


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## scarbelly

BackyardKCQ said:


> I totally had that all broken up into paragraphs before posting. What happened?


You should be able to go back and edit it


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## diggingdogfarm

Looks like you're off to a great start.

We used to make venison 'prosciutto' years ago, it's assume stuff!


~Martin


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## woodcutter

I'm going to keep up on this thread. Thanks for sharing!


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## pit 4 brains

BackyardKCQ said:


> I haven't heard that marrow in the brine is bad with the exception of CWD affected animals. Is it something to be avoided for other reasons?


Well I've been told that crosscutting the bones of wild game increases the gamey-ness of the meat. I think this would be more noticeable in steaks and the like, I certainly don't know for sure if it would impart a flavor into the brine and thus into the meat..


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## backyardkcq

Scarbelly said:


> You should be able to go back and edit it


Hmm, the pc I was working on must have had an older version of explorer that wasn't alowing me to do that. Thanks you, sir.


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## backyardkcq

DiggingDogFarm said:


> Looks like you're off to a great start.
> We used to make venison 'prosciutto' years ago, it's assume stuff!
> ~Martin


Do you have a link to a recipe/process for that? It sounds interesting.


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## shoneyboy




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## thoseguys26

How's it going? This is going to be exciting. I'm fired up about this one.


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## smokinhusker

Looking good so far...can't wait to see the final!


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## backyardkcq

The hams went into the curing solution on 10/20 and I removed them on 11/03. This is a little longer than I intended but my work schedule got a little hectic so the hams had to wait. I then leached them by putting them back into the fridge submerged in clear cold water for two days to remove some of the saltiness. On 11/5 I removed the hams from the water and dried them off. I then attempted to remove more of the thin slimy fat coating and some of the thicker fat layer that was previously very difficult to remove. Both came off much easier after being cured.

I also inspected the hams to ensure that they did not sour. A fry test can be conducted if you are worried by slicing off a little piece and frying it up. You should really be able to tell by smell and sight if something is wrong though.

Once the drying and trimming were completed, I wrapped one of the hams up and put it in the freezer for a later date, maybe Christmas.

I then applied a rub to the other ham while it rested covered to come up to room temperature.

I decided that I would make a rub specifically for venison. Since venison resembles beef in so many ways I decide to use something more black pepper/garlic based instead of paprika/brown sugar based. Here is the recipe for the rub. I adapted it from this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/...pork-with-citrus-and-garlic-recipe/index.html  which is for pork but it has a bunch of citrus stuff that I did not use. The part I selected from it is excellent for steak. So maybe I didn't need to source it and I could have called it my own without all of the explanation.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I think it really made a big difference in the flavor.

10 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
4 bay leaves
Black Pepper to your preference
Blend these up in a food processor and then apply liberally to the ham. This is where your trimming of the fat comes into play. You need the rub to get to the meat. The more you have exposed the more flavor from the rub and the smoke you will get. Trim the fat down the long porting of the ham near the "Knee" area to expose the separation in the major muscles. Pack this area with left over rub.













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I then made a basket weave bacon cap using 9 or 10 pieces of thickly sliced bacon woven together. I placed this over the larges part of the ham to protect it from heat flare ups and to add some fat to the ham. It also imparts a nice flavor.













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I then threw this guy into my stick burner with a couple pieces of smoldering apple wood at 225 F for about three hours.













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After three hours the internal temp was about 118 F. I didn't want to go overboard with the smoke so I pulled it off and finished it in a roasting pan in the oven.













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After tenting it with aluminum foil I put it in there at 225 F until the internal temp reached 140 F. I then pulled the ham out. Deer is very lean and easily over cooked and dried out. I then and placed some towels over it to let it rest for about an hour to an hour and a half. I then carved it and discarded the glands and other extraneous connecting tissue. I was surprised at how much meat I got off this thing.













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This ham really turned out. Absolutely no gamey flavor. Super Juicy. Just the right amount of smoke for me and the rub just went so well with the venison. The meat had the pink flavor of a ham and at 140 F it was done to just the right texture all the way through. I was really surprised by how well this came out. The process is not super complicated especially because it must be broken up over a couple of weeks. This is an excellent way to celebrate the holidays and/or the beginning of another successful hunting season!


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## backyardkcq

Pit 4 Brains said:


> Well I've been told that crosscutting the bones of wild game increases the gamey-ness of the meat. I think this would be more noticeable in steaks and the like, I certainly don't know for sure if it would impart a flavor into the brine and thus into the meat..


 I had to cut more of the bone away to fit one of the hams into the bucket I use to cure them. Even with a fresh cut I did not visually detect, after two weeks, any leaking of the marrow into the cure. In the end this ham was not gamey at all. Which could be because it was only a one year old buck, because it was harvested near a soy bean and corn farm, because of the cure, because of the leaching process, because of the slow cooking, or a combination of all of those possibilities. So I can not definitely say cross cutting the bone had no effect, but, I couldn't tell if it did.


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## thoseguys26

Was it worth all the effort? I have a mule deer leg I'm thinking about doing this too. Was the taste greater than cutting it up into roasts, etc? Any info from your experience would be great, thanks! I was thinking about trying some prosciutto maybe.


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## LanceR

Great thread.  I normally take 4-5 deer a year and plan to try curing some like a ham and some for dried deer meat ala dried beef this season.

As a note though, chronic wasting disease (CWD) is NOT transmissable to humans.  The process of boning it out, ensuring no tissue from the central nervous system, brain etc is left has to do with interstate transportation to, and sometimes through, a non-CWD state.  Each state has it's own protocol for the process so if you are transporting any cervid (deer, elk, moose etc) into that state from a CWD state check with the state fish and wildlife agency.

Lance

EDIT:  I checked into the newest info on the transmission of CWD to humans.  While there have been no cases confirmed there is concern due to similar prion proteins being transmitted so each of us who hunts in or comes in contact with deer from a CWD area may want to read this.

Sorry for any confusion.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/10/6/03-1082_article.htm


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## 05sprcrw

Looks great, and it has inspired me to give it a try this year if I get a deer. I am also planning on a hog hunt in feb if I can connect I think I will be making some with those as well.


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## jason wilson

Ive got 3 doe and 1 buck a Friend helped me process them and told me to make sure when I'm doing this to be sure to get off all the silver skin i noticed you had it on the whole time ?was it tough to chew when you got to it a bite that had it in there ? i want to do my deer in my smokers when I'm ready for them !


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## backyardkcq

thoseguys26 said:


> Was it worth all the effort? I have a mule deer leg I'm thinking about doing this too. Was the taste greater than cutting it up into roasts, etc? Any info from your experience would be great, thanks! I was thinking about trying some prosciutto maybe.


 I didn't feel like it was a lot of work. The process is broken up over the period of a couple of weeks so the prep is really just twenty minutes here and twenty minutes there. I had a second cured deer ham that I didn't use so I just put it in the fridge for Christmas. I thought it really turned out well. With the ham we made a hash, a quiche, several sandwiches, and what I brought to work just up and disappeared. I saved the bacon and threw it into some veggie sides over the next week. So I felt like it was worth it and something that I will do probably every year as a special treat.

I have never worked with mule deer. I've been told that they can be difficult to prepare. I would be interested in hearing how yours turns out regardless of how you prepare it.

 I didn't cut the ham up into roast only because I had some other roasts and I was interested in doing an entire haunch and the haunch was small coming from a button buck. I think the same process could be used for roasts.


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## backyardkcq

Jason Wilson said:


> Ive got 3 doe and 1 buck a Friend helped me process them and told me to make sure when I'm doing this to be sure to get off all the silver skin i noticed you had it on the whole time ?was it tough to chew when you got to it a bite that had it in there ? i want to do my deer in my smokers when I'm ready for them !


 I tried to remove as much as possible. If you compair the pics with the rub vs the pics beforehand you can see that a large amount of the fat and the silver skin has been removed. I found it impossible to get everything off. When I got to the finished product I really didn't notice the fat and silver skin at all. Good luck. Thats a lot of deer meat!


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## jason wilson

I may just have to do this I'll give it a try thanks.


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## cstallings

BackyardKCQ said:


> After tenting it with aluminum foil I put it in there at 225 F until the* internal temp reached 140. *[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Deer is very lean and easily over cooked and dried out. I then and placed some towels over it to let it rest for about an hour to an hour and a half. I then carved it and discarded the glands and other extraneous connecting tissue. I was surprised at how much meat I got off this thing.[/color]
> 
> *  *
> 
> *  *
> 
> *  *
> 
> *  *
> 
> *  *
> 
> *  *


 Looks great, but I have a question.  Is an internal temp of 140 high enough?  I thought it needed to be 152-155.

Thanks


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## backyardkcq

cstallings said:


> Looks great, but I have a question.  Is an internal temp of 140 high enough?  I thought it needed to be 152-155.
> 
> Thanks


 Deer is super lean so it is important not to over cook it. It is rare and medium rare at lower temps than beef. 140 turned out perfect for me. If you look around a little you will find a lot of folks recommend a done range of around 140 degrees for deer so you wont have to take my word for it if it sounds a little cooky.


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## jeffmtnman

Greetings all,

New to the site. Going to undertake a similar project of smoking an entire venison ham. My question. What's the purpose of brining the meat. I have smoked many fish, both whole and fillet and never brined them and they came out great.

Jeff


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## cfoxtrot

jeffmtnman said:


> Greetings all,
> 
> New to the site. Going to undertake a similar project of smoking an entire venison ham. My question. What's the purpose of brining the meat. I have smoked many fish, both whole and fillet and never brined them and they came out great.
> 
> Jeff


The brine is for curing the meat, this transforms the meat into "ham". With out brining the meat you will simply have smoked venison, not venison ham.

At least that's my understanding of it.


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## scootermagoo

This looks SWEET!  I have a friend who wants me to smoke a venison hind quarter.  I am going to suggest this to him!   WOW!


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## jeffmtnman

Getting ready to start this process with a venison leg and am putting together the brining ingredients.

Question: Are these curing salts - http://www.ebay.com/itm/DQ-Curing-Salt-for-Jerky-Sausage-4-oz-cures-100-lbs-/180436426265 - the same as the DQ Cure mentioned by the OP ?
 

Jeff


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## jeffmtnman

Hey all,

So I did this venison project sticking pretty close to the OP's directions. It came out with a nice flavor except way too salty. I became limited in the time I could soak the meat in fresh water due to the birth of a new granddaughter. Is there anything I can do at this point to subdue the saltyness.

Jeff


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## rednek-

Is there a particular reason that you sliced it with the grain vs. across the grain?













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## backyardkcq

It was just easier cutting that way based on the shape of the leg.


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## robtattoo

Hi there, first post & this thread's the reason I registered...

I just wanted to say a massive thanks for this post.
I found it via the Googling & it turns out to be the BEST venison ham I've ever made.
I've never tried a wet cure before, my background is in prosciutto & parma style, dry cured hams.

I just finished my 8lb ham in the oven & I honestly giggled when I tasted it. Nearest thing you actual pork ham I've ever tried!

Thanks!


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## loggie

Great post


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## noble captain

Thank you so much  for all the information,  everything  looked  awesome,  . I took out my deer hind quarter yesterday and will trim and start  today. Thanks so much.


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