# Venison Bacon



## wayne gray (Jun 28, 2018)

Anybody out there in SMF land have a good homemade venison Bacon recipe.Thinking about trying to make a batch. Thanks for any info you might have!


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## Gwanger (Jun 28, 2018)

wayne gray said:


> Anybody out there in SMF land have a good homemade venison Bacon recipe.Thinking about trying to make a batch. Thanks for any info you might have!


I would think that venison would lack the necessary fat for good bacon you could try a canadian style bacon typically made from a loin


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## biteme7951 (Jun 28, 2018)

You could try Bear's recipe for Canadian bacon/dried venison. You can fully cook it to eat cold or finish to the rare side then cook prior to eating it as in bacon, This is what i use to make smoked pork chops from whole loins with and finish in smoker to 145 then just reheat.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/canadian-bacon-and-dried-beef-cured-smoked.109617/

Barry.


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## TrainSafe (Jun 28, 2018)

I’ve made quite a lot over the years . . . probably close to 400 pounds. It is a favorite among family and friends. This year I turned almost half my deer into bacon. 

We use either a 60/40 or 50/50 mix if venison to pork.  You’ll want more fat content than sausage so that you can get it to sizzle in the pan. I use pork shoulders ground. 

Grind venison
Grind pork
Weigh and mix
Add seasoning/cure and mix (I use PS Seasoning Venison Bacon Cure and add more maple seasoning for that extra flavor boost)
Pack it into foil pans like meatloaf. Make it fairly thick in the pan. One time I made the mistake of packing them thin and it made for dryer crumbling end product. Pack it in firmly and squeeze out pockets of air that would cause voids in the final product. 
Let cure overnight. 

Warm up smoker to about 225. I use a blend of apple and cherry. 
Carefully remove the loaf from the foil pan and place it on the rack. Smoke to an internal temp of 140-142

Let them cool and then slice. Vacuum seal and freeze.


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## wayne gray (Jun 28, 2018)

biteme7951 said:


> You could try Bear's recipe for Canadian bacon/dried venison. You can fully cook it to eat cold or finish to the rare side then cook prior to eating it as in bacon, This is what i use to make smoked pork chops from whole loins with and finish in smoker to 145 then just reheat.
> 
> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/canadian-bacon-and-dried-beef-cured-smoked.109617/
> 
> Barry.





biteme7951 said:


> You could try Bear's recipe for Canadian bacon/dried venison. You can fully cook it to eat cold or finish to the rare side then cook prior to eating it as in bacon, This is what i use to make smoked pork chops from whole loins with and finish in smoker to 145 then just reheat.
> 
> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/canadian-bacon-and-dried-beef-cured-smoked.109617/
> 
> Barry.


Thanks for the idea


biteme7951 said:


> You could try Bear's recipe for Canadian bacon/dried venison. You can fully cook it to eat cold or finish to the rare side then cook prior to eating it as in bacon, This is what i use to make smoked pork chops from whole loins with and finish in smoker to 145 then just reheat.
> 
> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/canadian-bacon-and-dried-beef-cured-smoked.109617/
> 
> Barry.


Thanks for the idea never gave that a thought! Guess you build off of that. Thanks


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## tallbm (Jun 28, 2018)

I do Venison Pastrami which is the same process as venison bacon.
Doing 80% pure ground venison and 20% pork back fat (from the butcher) works out really well.
Next time I make it I'm going to up my Soy Protein Isolate binder from 2% to 2.5% and see if that gets me slices that avoid tearing so easily when I pull them out of the package after they have been defrosted.

If you are using a store bought seasoning mix then it should  have all the binders you need. 

I hope this info helps :)


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## Bearcarver (Jun 28, 2018)

Wayne,
That stuff I make is not Bacon. It is Venison Dried Beef.
Here's the Venison Dried Beef Step by Steps:
*Smoked Venison Dried Beef
Venison Backstrap Dried Beef
Venison Backstrap Dried Beef #2
*

*The only way to make Venison Bacon is Ground-Formed*, and the best way to start is to get a pack of seasoning to mix, with instructions. Owens sells that, and below is a Link.
Go to this Link, and scroll down to "Ground Formed Venison Bacon".  Tell Marty "Bear Sent You":
http://www.owensbbq.com/ringsmoked-seasoning.html

Bear


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## Gwanger (Jun 28, 2018)

TrainSafe said:


> I’ve made quite a lot over the years . . . probably close to 400 pounds. It is a favorite among family and friends. This year I turned almost half my deer into bacon.
> 
> We use either a 60/40 or 50/50 mix if venison to pork.  You’ll want more fat content than sausage so that you can get it to sizzle in the pan. I use pork shoulders ground.
> 
> ...


not really venison bacon, more like meat loaf


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## pops6927 (Jun 28, 2018)

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/pops6927s-curing-brines-regular-and-lo-salt


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## pc farmer (Jun 28, 2018)

tallbm said:


> I do Venison Pastrami which is the same process as venison bacon.
> Doing 80% pure ground venison and 20% pork back fat (from the butcher) works out really well.
> Next time I make it I'm going to up my Soy Protein Isolate binder from 2% to 2.5% and see if that gets me slices that avoid tearing so easily when I pull them out of the package after they have been defrosted.
> 
> ...



Do you mix and put in a pan to smoke?  Do you stuff it in a casing?


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## tallbm (Jun 28, 2018)

c farmer said:


> Do you mix and put in a pan to smoke?  Do you stuff it in a casing?



I mix it all up and form into a loaf (using a pan or a cardboard box) that is wrapped in saran wrap.  Once I have it formed and tightly wrapped in saran wrap I remove from the pan/box rest it in the fridge overnight at least.  Then I put it on racks with q-mats and smoke.

Ground Formed Bacon like venison bacon is done the exact same way but just has different seasonings.  You would form it into a 1.5-2inch thick loaf and smoke it, then slice it for venison bacon.
I tried it and it was ok so I then attempted the Venison Pastrami and WOW I was blown away!  I wasn't going to use up my precious ground venison with that ground formed bacon seasoning (Lem's).  I use the bacon seasoning to season real bacon and it works well there so no loss :)

See the post for details here: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pastrami-loaf-with-qview.263815/












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I hope this info and these pictures help you visualize what you would do with your ground formed Venison Bacon :)


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## wayne gray (Jun 29, 2018)

Thanks that helps!


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## wayne gray (Jun 29, 2018)

Bearcarver said:


> Wayne,
> That stuff I make is not Bacon. It is Venison Dried Beef.
> Here's the Venison Dried Beef Step by Steps:
> *Smoked Venison Dried Beef
> ...


Thanks bear I already make the dried venison & I have quite the following . This winter I made about 70# for friends. They can't get enough great recipe! I was looking to try something different. Didn't really want to buy mix. Just wanted to make my own.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 29, 2018)

wayne gray said:


> Thanks bear I already make the dried venison & I have quite the following . This winter I made about 70# for friends. They can't get enough great recipe! I was looking to try something different. Didn't really want to buy mix. Just wanted to make my own.




Glad you like that Venison Dried Beef.

I never came up with my own mixture of seasonings for Formed Ground Bacon, so all I could give you on that was from "Owens". Curly's sells it too.

The only Ground Formed of my own I have are closer to Pepperoni than Bacon.
That would be the following items:
*Unstuffed Beef Sticks (All Beef)  *
*Smoked Bear Logs (All Beef)  
Smoked Bear Loaf (All Beef)  
Smoked Mini-Bear-Loaves (All Beef)*

Bear


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## tallbm (Jun 29, 2018)

wayne gray said:


> Thanks that helps!


Awesome.

Also know I don't have any pics of slices from my slicer.  I can slice them much thinner then the pics that used the knife... I just couldn't wait and had to try the the meat in those pics :)

If you are going to try and make your own mix then *be sure to use a binder*.  What I have found is that the slices hold together just well enough without a binder UNTIL you freeze and then defrost them.  After that the slices are way more brittle and as you go to pull a slice it will break in half or worse on you.

Each type of binder has it's own percentage rules.  I use Soy Protein Isolate because I always have it on hand AND I'm very lactose intolerant so I don't want to even mess with the Non Fat Dry Milk as a binder though it is way cheaper and easier to come by.

Oh I went and dug up my Ground Formed Venison Bacon post.  It has some details that may help you on your journey.  To sum up my experience, what it created was more like sandwich meat than bacon hence my journey into the ground meat Venison Pastrami which blew my socks off lol :)
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/media/dsc_8846-jpg.508756/








I hope this info helps :)


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## Gwanger (Jun 29, 2018)

why call it venison bacon,It's meatloaf


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## tallbm (Jun 29, 2018)

Gwanger said:


> why call it venison bacon,It's meatloaf



I believe Turkey bacon is made as ground formed bacon.  The big industry of it just knows how to get better texture, consistency, and how to color/paint it to look more like bacon.

In reality all ground formed bacon is just formed into a thin rectangular loaf.
So yeah it is a loaf of meat in reality.

After my first attempt it was more of a sandwich meat consistency so I switched gears to making ground formed sandwich meat instead.  Hence my Venison Pastrami :)


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## wayne gray (Jun 29, 2018)

Gwanger said:


> why call it venison bacon,It's meatloaf


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## wayne gray (Jun 29, 2018)

In My neck of the woods they call it venison Bacon sorry!


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## chopsaw (Jun 29, 2018)

Had ground venison bacon many times . Never made me think meat loaf . Makes good bacon . Just another way to use your harvest .


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## macneilm (Aug 20, 2018)

Agree with chopsaw.  Nothing like meatloaf.  Couple of twists on the ground venison bacon.  
1. I try and use some pork jowl.  First time went with 50% venison and 50% pork jowl.  What a greasy mess in the MES 40.  But possibly the best ground venison bacon  I've ever had.  Tough to find pork jowl so I cut it back to maybe 15% jowl, 35% pork butt, 50% venison.  Still better than 50% pork butt-50% venison.
2. Tried stuffing it in 3 inch and 4 inch bologna casings.  Like this better than the pans.  3 inch perfect for breakfast sandwich on English muffin and 4 inch great on a bagel.  Either size works for a great BLT!

I've only tried Curlys.  

Is it true bacon?  No, put when you fry it up it tastes great.  And again like chopsaw says,  its a great way to get the most out of the deer we take each year!


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## lancerh (Aug 30, 2018)

I'm a little late to the party, but here is what I did a few years ago:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/venison-bacon.136694/


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## Gwanger (Aug 31, 2018)

lancerh said:


> I'm a little late to the party, but here is what I did a few years ago:
> 
> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/venison-bacon.136694/


venison and ground pork for venison brats,yum. use recipe for pork and beef brats and sub venison for beef. that will use up all your venison especialy leg meat and all trimmings. enjoy


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