Venison Meat

go4

I have a chunk of venison that I am defrosting.  I have a bottle of rub and seasoning to put on when it is defrosted. 
The meat is about 2-3 lbs.  Do I smoke it as is(chunk) or do I slice it up prior to smoking it. Do I have to turn it after
a while or just leave it in one position while smoking it. How many hours do Ihave to smoke the meat.

Sorry for all the questions, I am new at this.

bgebrent

What is the cut of venison.

bgebrent

And welcome aboard.

go4

Hi, I believe the cut is a portion of hind quarter, sorry not exactly sure.

TideEggHead

Welcome! Try the search function on this forum, it is very very helpful and there is a lot of great info out there. I would just be careful with low slow on venison, most cuts don't have the fat content needed for low slow cooks. Never done hindquarters on the egg so I'll let others comment on that.

Mattman3969

I don't think venison would benefit from a slow cook.  If it's a chunk like a pork roast I would prolly do it at 350-375 indirect with a remote thermo watching the temp for no more than medium.  If the cut is like a tenderloin I'd go direct  hot n fast flipping every 4-5 or so till desired temp was hit 

Killit_and_Grillit

@go4 just to pile on, I have NEVER had a slow smoked piece of deer meat I thought was worth swallowing. I've cooked venison steaks raised direct a lot but for most "non wild game" eaters don't like the flavor of a whole shoulder piece or hind quarter just tossed on and cooked rare like beef. 

You can marinate it and put it in a roasting pan and cook to Medium rare on the Egg. SPOG or your favorite rub. 

If you want to cube it up and make chili here is a great chili con carne recipe I have used quite a few times. You can do it on the Egg if you have a Dutch oven. 

https://www.buckmasters.com/Hunting/In-The-Kitchen/Recipes/ID/679/Easy-Venison-Chili-Con-Carne

Or if you are just DYING to have it with some smoke I would suggest using a Joetisserie, wrapping the cut in latticed bacon, then toss some fruit wood in and letting it rotisserie at about 325-350. 

Post it and let us know how it turned out. (And welcome)

JNDATHP

No smoking here. And no roasts for venison. 

Soak in buttermilk for an hour after cutting into small steaks. Small as in no more than an inch thick and 3” in diameter. 

Use cast iron pan with oil and butter and place salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder seasoned flour coated, egg bathed, small steaks in pan, cook to rare and then remove to oven at 200* until all are cooked and ready to serve. 

Serve with mashed potatoes, greens of some kind and enjoy. 

Been cooking wild game for over 40 years. 

jak7028

Great advice above.  Deer meat just doesn't have enough fat in it to be juicy.  Adding bacon or cooking in butter are both good suggestions.  With venison, a ham cut thinner into steaks and cooking it fast is the way to go.  The longer you cook it, the drier and tougher it will get, rare to medium rare is popular.  

Most people will do something like the chili con carne recipe above, or variation of cooking where the meet can simmer.  Cutting it into steaks, tenderizing it with a mallet, and then chicken frying is popular as well. 

Personally, I grind up all 4 quarters of my deer and just keep the backstrap and tenderloins whole.  I live in Texas though, we generally have smaller, leaner deer here.  

Woodchunk

If you want smoke then put it on at a low temp for an hour, then pull it and finish in the oven like a roast with stock and veggies.

Focker

Do you have a grinder?
Burgers are great.  Tacos too.
Chop and dice for chili like @Killit_and_Grillit's recommendation, is another solid option.

Terrebandit

Hindquarters are great for making venison stew.  You could do it in a Dutch oven in the egg or in a crockpot on the countertop.  Cube the meat, and brown with heavy amounts of seasonings. Use beef broth stock as your base liquid and add your basic veggies -onions, carrots, jalapeño, stewed tomatoes, sweet corn, mushrooms, whatever.... The trick for making it tender is to let it cook at a low temp for a longtime, in liquid. 

Hoster05

you could braise the meat in a dutch oven with potatoes, carrots, some broth and a package of onion soup mix.  We make venison roasts like this all the time in the crock pot for a hearty winter meal.  I would imagine doing the same style cook in a dutch oven would yield similar results with a smoke flavor, haven't tried it myself though.  

leemschu

I prefer slicing if it’s not really a uniform cut. If it’s back strap I tend to do it indirect to about 130 cooking 350 to 400 and I like hickory smoke. Takes away the gamey flavor for the most part. Makes it where my wife will eat it.

MattBTI

Has anyone here tried curing venison and smoking? It's something i'd like to try. I've heard of people doing this with duck, although I'm betting that domesticated birds are typically used. 

fishlessman

burger, sausage, chili, stroganof

Killit_and_Grillit

MattBTI said:

Has anyone here tried curing venison and smoking? It's something i'd like to try. I've heard of people doing this with duck, although I'm betting that domesticated birds are typically used. 

@MattBTI A few years ago we tried it with wild duck at our duck camp. It went well with ketchup and hot sauce if that gives you an idea of how it turned out. It was a lot of work for a marginal piece of meat. 

MattBTI

@Killit_and_Grillit Understood

Focker

Ricotta venison ravioli is penciled in for one of my Thanksgiving offerings.  Freeze ahead of time, drop directly into the rolling water.

Lasagna, another venison friendly dish.

(Homer Simpson voice)
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, deer. 
Woohoo!

Killit_and_Grillit

Focker said:

Ricotta venison ravioli is penciled in for one of my Thanksgiving offerings.  Freeze ahead of time, drop directly into the rolling water.

Lasagna, another venison friendly dish.

(Homer Simpson voice)
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, deer. 
Woohoo!

That sounds amazing. Definitely post making that. 

This thread got me craving venison chili so I tossed some of that ground Axis ground in a pot just now. 

go4

Thank you all for the insight
 Now I have to see what I am going to do.
 I will let you all know what happened and how it tasted