Wild Game Cooking?

Those Both Look Good !! :thumb:

Here's a post from me from awhile back. Did up a back strap.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148663

With larger deer, elk, and moose roasts I have smoked them and pulled them with a little tweak on the "chuckie" technique. Many folks on this board do beef chuck roasts by smoking until the roast hits 160 and then foiling with broth until it hits 200 or is probe tender, rest it in a cooler for a bit and then pulling. I have also done it until the meat is 190 and still "sliceable" and then I serve the meat slices in warm seasoned broth.

Back to the wild game, you can make either sliceable or pulled venison by smoking until 140-150. Then foil with broth. I like to cook at 300-350 on my kettle with pecan, hickory, oak, or cherry, then when the meat hits 140 or so I foil with seasoned broth. If I want sliceable I take it off at 190 or so. If I want pulled I go to 200 and then rest in a cooler for an hour or so and then pull. I then add back some seasoned broth to help flavor it and then serve.

Hey there, Summer Sausage looks great Throw Craisins in and thats what I was smoking this weekend.

Garlic,Pepperjack,Craisin Summer

Grain Belt said:

With larger deer, elk, and moose roasts I have smoked them and pulled them with a little tweak on the "chuckie" technique. Many folks on this board do beef chuck roasts by smoking until the roast hits 160 and then foiling with broth until it hits 200 or is probe tender, rest it in a cooler for a bit and then pulling. I have also done it until the meat is 190 and still "sliceable" and then I serve the meat slices in warm seasoned broth.

Back to the wild game, you can make either sliceable or pulled venison by smoking until 140-150. Then foil with broth. I like to cook at 300-350 on my kettle with pecan, hickory, oak, or cherry, then when the meat hits 140 or so I foil with seasoned broth. If I want sliceable I take it off at 190 or so. If I want pulled I go to 200 and then rest in a cooler for an hour or so and then pull. I then add back some seasoned broth to help flavor it and then serve.

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Too lean for pulled.

flyingbassman5 said:

Here's a post from me from awhile back. Did up a back strap.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148663

Click to expand...

That strap looks incredible. Well done!

WineMaster said:

Too lean for pulled.

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Says you. I have done it over a dozen times and have been very pleased with the results. Have you tried it? I think the moisture really helps. Fattier cuts don't need the foiling/moisture addition because of their fat. How many thousands of hunters do venison roasts in the crock pot that fall apart? This is doing something similar in a moist environment but adding smoke for flavor early on.

Never attempted to smoke deer. I treat deer like a steak. Sear and serve sort of meat. I suppose I should try smoking it, but when you only have so much, you hate to take a chance at wasting any of it.

Here are a couple things I've done with my venison...

Backstrap - stuffed with feta cheese, wrapped in bacon



Finished product...



Link to the venison pastrami I made (using Cowgirls recipe/method) - http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=149115


Another thing that I've done that I don't have pictures of is take a couple of the inner tenderloins, season them with your favorite rub (these days it is 3 Eyz BBQ for me) and toss them on the smoker for 20 minutes or so, just enough to get some smoke flavor on them. Once they have taken on some smoke, toss them on a hot grill to sear just a minute or two on either side. Let rest, slice and enough. The last time I did this I used cherry for the smoke wood and everyone loved it.

Cherrywood - I'm with you on the backstraps. When I cook a whole backstrap wrapped in bacon like I pictured above, I often cut myself some nice steaks to go with it and cook them hot and fast.

Grain Belt said:

Says you. I have done it over a dozen times and have been very pleased with the results. Have you tried it? I think the moisture really helps. Fattier cuts don't need the foiling/moisture addition because of their fat. How many thousands of hunters do venison roasts in the crock pot that fall apart? This is doing something similar in a moist environment but adding smoke for flavor early on.

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Im sure when you want pulled pork, you buy a pork loin too. I dont like using any of the fat from deer. Glad you have success with pulled venison. Just not my prefered way of cooking it.

WineMaster said:

Too lean for pulled.

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I have to back up Grain on this one. I've done numerous venision roasts in the crock pot over night and they literally full apart in the morning. I've never cooked one on the smoker, but have great success with doing it in the crock pot with peperoncini and Italian seasoning.

Very similar to shredded beef and just as great on a bun.

If ya cook anything long enuf it will fall apart. That doent mean its Pulled.
What temp does your deer have to reach to be pulled. Id love to try it. Let me know.

With Beef and pork its 195 to 210 usually.

A long cooking or heat process will result in,

dis·in·te·grate
[ diss íntə gràyt ]

1. break into fragments: to break into components or fragments, or break something into small pieces or constituent parts
2. lose wholeness: to destroy the cohesion, unity, or wholeness of something, or undergo such destruction

Gotta get me some of that Disintegrated Deer. Sorry I had too. I am kidding.
We can also debate that deer from Northern MN taste different than the deer from Southern MN. I got the time. :laugh:

Winemaster,

I'm just going to have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. Some cuts of meat do not pull as well as others. Of course pork butt is the best for pulling. But I made a damn nice lean pork sirloin roast that I browned, foiled at 165, cooked to 205, and pulled apart after foiling and seasoned. There was little to no fat and it was quite good. Its what I had to work with. I think venison cooking is like cooking very lean cuts of beef or pork. You just have to pull a few more tricks.

First you say pulling venison not your prefered method and then in another post you say you would love to try it. So I take it that you have not tried it, yet you are offering your advice. That's fine but you rip into the method pretty hard for someone that has not tried it. Whether it falls apart on its own or has to be pulled by hand or shredded with forks, it is all good if properly moistened/seasoned in my opinion. You might not share that opinion but I would appreciate if you would back off a little on the snarkiness.

That being said, I find that each venison roast has its own personality, no different than other forms of meat. Some are stay tough longer, some give up easy. I have found if i get around 200-210 that I can get most venison roasts pulled apart. Then I like to add seasoned broth back into it to add some additional moisture to the meat.

As far as the north versus south Minnesota deer debate, I actually hunt 20 miles from Ontario weekend 1 and 20 miles from Iowa weekend 2. For those not from Minnesota we have a pretty clear line between deep northern forest deer and deer that get there fill of corn and soybeans in the south. I am eating a Southwestern MN doe this year that is fantastic! I also have had a forkhorn from the North Country that was very good and would consider her equal. The worst deer I have had all were run hard on drives, from both North and South. All in all, my favorite deer were all harvested when they had no idea that I was there. I think chased/wounded deer can get off flavors. I have shot over 30 deer and really enjoy the meat. Also had the chance years back to shoot a Minnesota bull moose. It dressed out at 1200 lbs. and was some of the best meat I have ever enjoyed.

I'd like to think that I know my way around fixing venison through trial and error and getting feedback from many folks about what they think after trying it.

Grain Belt said:

Winemaster,

I'm just going to have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. Some cuts of meat do not pull as well as others. Of course pork butt is the best for pulling. But I made a damn nice lean pork sirloin roast that I browned, foiled at 165, cooked to 205, and pulled apart after foiling and seasoned. There was little to no fat and it was quite good. Its what I had to work with. I think venison cooking is like cooking very lean cuts of beef or pork. You just have to pull a few more tricks.

First you say pulling venison not your prefered method and then in another post you say you would love to try it. So I take it that you have not tried it, yet you are offering your advice. That's fine but you rip into the method pretty hard for someone that has not tried it. Whether it falls apart on its own or has to be pulled by hand or shredded with forks, it is all good if properly moistened/seasoned in my opinion. You might not share that opinion but I would appreciate if you would back off a little on the snarkiness.

That being said, I find that each venison roast has its own personality, no different than other forms of meat. Some are stay tough longer, some give up easy. I have found if i get around 200-210 that I can get most venison roasts pulled apart. Then I like to add seasoned broth back into it to add some additional moisture to the meat.

As far as the north versus south Minnesota deer debate, I actually hunt 20 miles from Ontario weekend 1 and 20 miles from Iowa weekend 2. For those not from Minnesota we have a pretty clear line between deep northern forest deer and deer that get there fill of corn and soybeans in the south. I am eating a Southwestern MN doe this year that is fantastic! I also have had a forkhorn from the North Country that was very good and would consider her equal. The worst deer I have had all were run hard on drives, from both North and South. All in all, my favorite deer were all harvested when they had no idea that I was there. I think chased/wounded deer can get off flavors. I have shot over 30 deer and really enjoy the meat. Also had the chance years back to shoot a Minnesota bull moose. It dressed out at 1200 lbs. and was some of the best meat I have ever enjoyed.

I'd like to think that I know my way around fixing venison through trial and error and getting feedback from many folks about what they think after trying it.

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Im fine with that. I have had crock pot roasts b-4. Most sportsman that hunt deer have im sure. Why did I ask what temp you cook it to to get pulled? Because I dont agree that you can cook a deer and get pulled. You can IMO cook a deer till it falls apart yes.
Just because we disagree on a topic dont make it a bad thing.

Dan

Whoa whoa whoa......hold up!


Everyone knows that Missouri White Tail Does taste best :thumb:

Pulled, shredded, disintegrated. What ever it is taste good that's all that matters.

WineMaster said:

Im fine with that. I have had crock pot roasts b-4. Most sportsman that hunt deer have im sure. Why did I ask what temp you cook it to to get pulled? Because I dont agree that you can cook a deer and get pulled. You can IMO cook a deer till it falls apart yes.
Just because we disagree on a topic dont make it a bad thing.

Dan

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Never said it was bad. Just defending my honor. Try the roast on your smoker, foil with broth fortified with garlic and pepper until it hits 205, then rest it a bit and let me know. If it doesn't pull, I'll let you buy me a beer and we can discuss it some time. :-D