Here are three recipes for you, Dave....
Yo Dave, Before I get started, I want to make this bold statement. I base this on years of experience cooking venison. Placing strips of bacon on venison does nothing to help the moistness of the interior of the meat. All it does is create a barrier on the venison to where it reduces the exposure of the meat to the smoke you are trying to put on the meat in the first place. The grease rendered by the bacon may keep the exterior of the meat moist, but that is all it does. It does not help the interior retain moisture whatsoever.
So here are three different recipes I use for venison. If I am using ground venison for sausage or burgers for the grill, I use a mix of 60% ground venison, 20% ground beef and 20% ground pork. You can go 40% with either beef or pork if you want. If I am using pre-ground beef or pork, I use a 80% lean mixture. You can substitute pork shoulder or brisket point and grind it yourself. I find that using straight ground venison is too lean and the ground meat will not adhere to itself very well. The beef/pork will have enough fat in it to help the meat stick together and it will also mask some of the gamey taste the venison may have. Depending on the taste preference of the crowd you are serving, you can adjust the amount of beef/pork you add to the mix.
Here is a summer sausage recipe from the old BBQ-Porch web-site:
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Summer Sausage
5 pounds deer meat
4 tablespoons Morton's Tender Quick
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons water
After mixing all ingredients shape into rolls and place in ice-box(refrigerator) 24 to 48 hours to cure. Place rolls on smoker and smoke with low heat (180F) 45 minutes. Turn over and smoke another 45 minutes. Increase heat in smoker to 300F after 45 minutes turn over and cook another 30 minutes. Sausage is now done. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Here is a Summer Sausage recipe we enjoy here. If you would like a sweeter version add 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar to this recipe. You may want to experiment with the Cayenne to suit your taste. ...... K
Yield: 1 serving
Preparation Time: 0:00
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Notes: I use a mix of three pounds venison, one pound beef and one pound pork. I don't bother with the various heat ranges of the recipe. I just cook at 250ºF until the sausage hits an internal temperature of 160ºF and wrap in foil to let the sausage rest. One thing I like about this recipe is you do not need a sausage stuffer. You will need to rotate the sausages every so often to keep their round shape. I like to substitute a good dark beer instead of using the water called for in the recipe. Another thing I also do is make a little extra rub using the all of the dry ingredients excluding the Tender-Quick. I use this rub on the exterior of the sausage logs after they have been formed.
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The second recipe is the one I use for marinating backstrap or injecting hind quarters. If I am using this solution for an injection, I omit the vegetable oil. Also if I am using this for an injection, I will mix the ingredients the day before so the flavors meld. I then strain the solution so the needle will not clog when you are injecting. I use about one fluid ounce per pound of meat. I inject no more than four hours before cooking time. Any longer than four hours will turn the meat mushy before it even cooks. After injecting, I use a 50/50 combination of brisket rub and Montreal Steak Seasoning on the exterior of the meat.
Venison is best served no hotter than medium rare. Anything cooked over 155ºF will tend to be tough and dry. I prefer a finish temperature of 145ºF or lower. Cook the backstrap or hindquarter @ 250ºF until it hits an internal temperature of 145ºF. If you are just cooking backstrap, you can kick the heat up some. The last ten pound hindquarter I cooked took about 30 minutes per pound @250ºF to reach an internal temperature of 145ºF.
Once the meat hits 145ºF, I wrap the hindquarter in foil and add some Rick's Sinful Marinade inside the foil and let the meat rest for 30 minutes before slicing. You can substitute beef broth instead of the RSM.
Here is the injection recipe for the venison. I will also mention that this works good on lamb. Q'Sis first posted this recipe on the BBQ Forum.
From a thin paperback booklet, called, "The Barbecue & Smoker Cookbook, from the Kitchens of Southern Living"
Magnificent Marinade:
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T. dry mustard
1 T. coarsely ground pepper
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
Rick's Sinful Marinade:
12 oz. can of beer
½ cup cider vinegar
½ Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons barbeque sauce
1 tablespoon of beef base
1 tablespoon rub
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon MSG
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The third recipe I like to use is for venison pastrami. I took a whole hindquarter (10 lbs.) and cut it into three muscle groups. There is one big muscle on the hindquarter that looks like a nerf football. Cut it separate from the bone. You should be able to get two more cuts from the quarter that will be about the thickness of a brisket. Trim the small muscles and ends to give the two smaller pieces uniform appearance.
What is listed below comes from Randy Lee's web-site:
www.randyq.addr.com/recipes/pastrami.htm This recipe was originally for beef pastrami, but I have made a few alterations for venison.
Brine Injection:
3.5 C. Good Clean Water (such as spring water)
2 Tbsp Tenderquick
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 ts Granulated Garlic or Powdered Garlic (try not to use Garlic Salt)
Anytime I inject any variety of meat, I figure one fluid ounce per pound is a good average. You might be to get more than that into venison. Anyway, give the meat as much as it will take. Here are the rub recipes for the pastrami:
Rub #1
3 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 ts ground thyme
1 Tbsp ground dehydrated onion or onion powder
Mix the above rub, take out 2 Tbsp to mix with Rub #2. Save remainder of Rub #1 for smoking day.
Rub #2
1/4 C. Tenderquick
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Rub #1 from above
After the venison has had its fill of brine (hopefully all of it), pour out excess brine from pan and coat it all over with completed Rub #2...use all rub #2.
Cover and refrigerate for 3-5 days, turning at least once a day top to bottom. Once the venison is corned or cured, remove it from the refrigerator and wash the rub off. Then soak the venison in cold water for at least an hour. Once the meat has been rinsed and soaked remove it from the water and pat dry with paper towels and apply rub #3.
Rub #3
Remaining Rub #1 from Day 1, almost 4 Tbsp
1 ts Paprika
1 ts Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Freshly Ground Coarse Black Pepper (or more, if you like it really peppery on the outside)
Cook the meat at 250ºF until it hits and internal temperature between 160º-165º. Once it hits this temperature, remove the meat from the smoker, wrap it in foil and put some Rick's Sinful Marinade or beef broth in the foil before sealing. After the meat has cooled down, pour out the juice from the foil packet and refrigerate until completely cool. After the meat is completely cooled off, slice it against the grain, as thin as you can. Before you have sliced too much of the roast, try some of the pastrami, you may find the remaining rub to be too strong in flavor. If this is the case, just wash it off real good under cold water. I know I may seem to be contradicting myself with the higher finish temperature for this recipe, but pastrami is supposed to be dry.
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Now you know all my venison recipes and cooking techniques. If you have any questions feel free to post them here or contact me at
juggydbeerman@hotmail.com . Make sure you put the word, "venison" in the title of your message so that it clears my spam filter.
Beers and deers to you,
Juggy
