First Slow Cook -- Advice wanted

Unknown · June 2003

Well, I have done several things on my BGE since receiving it as a Christmas gift. It's time to do my first slow-cook. Am going to do a venison roast. Have one from this past season's hunt. Meat from this deer has been tender thus far. Have prepared the roast, sliced apples in the center, slivers of garlic around the outside, roast tied w/string and thick-sliced bacon pinned to the outside. Oh, almost forgot - put some medium spicy rub on the outside of the roast before applying the bacon. Plan to do the roast in my v-rack over a pan with shiraz with more of the rub. [p]Any suggestions about temp/time? Have a large fire going in the BGE after cooking brats today for a nice Father's Day lunch w/the family. I was thinking about smoking over hickory chunks at first, then reducing the temp to 250 for the duration of the cook, and probably about 18 hours total time. I have a Polder, so can easily check the temp. Guess I should put the Polder in at first, so that I don't have to open the egg for any reason. [p]Plan dinner tomorrow evening around 6. Wife is returning tomorrow afternoon after being away for the past 5 days, visiting family in Canada.[p]Thanks for any advice.[p]Ron
Springfield, MO

Unknown · June 2003

Ron,[p]Have never done venison, but if it fits in the V-rack I wouldn't think its much bigger than a pork loin (about 3-4 lbs). You've also got it prepared something like Mr. Toads pork loin. His recipe is in the section, but I'm pretty sure its indirect at 350 and done within a couple hours. I think the same method would work pretty well with your vension.

Unknown · June 2003

RG,
Thanks for the reply. As it happens, I just found another site - www.smokingwoodchips.com, which has a wonderful chart that covers smoking a wide variety of meats to a spectrum of doneness, giving the time required, final temp, and so on. That tells me that it should take ~4 hrs, and together with your info, I guess I'll shut down the fire now, and restart it tomorrow. Even if all else fails, I have some brats left-over from today. Mr Toad's recipe tells temp to cook with and final temp, but doesn't tell me how long to expect it to take. I need to know that, so that I can plan ahead and have dinner ready at the proper time. [p]I get a little nervous when cooking on the BGE, as I want my wife to get as much enjoyment out of the final result as I do preparing it.

JSlot · June 2003

Ron,[p]This is probably a little late for a response, but here it is anyway. Venison is a very lean meat and doesn't lend itself to slow cooking that well. You will probably have a tough time (no pun intended) keeping it from drying out on a long cook. Baste frequently and/or layer it with bacon to help moisten it as you go. I generally do venison roasts like most other beef roasts at about 350° indirect until medium rare in center. I'll be interested in hearing how your experiment turns out, so keep us posted!!![p]Good luck,
Jim

Mike in MN · June 2003

Ron,
This is not an exacting science. It's tough to predict cooking times...approximate maybe....even if it's something you have cooked several times over the years. [p]I have some salmon going right now that has gone longer than I though it would have....but I'm adapting to the time overun...I'm on the PC, and I'm still sipping a beer. No problem. The smoked salmon will make good treats for my friends tomorrow. No one is waiting for it this late... maybe just a little sample before bed...[p]Mike in MN[p]Mike in MN

First Slow Cook -- Advice wanted

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