I have cooked a lot of venison over the years and my two favorite ways of cooking a deer hindquarter are these two methods. One involves making pastrami. Here is the link to the recipe I use:
http://www.randyq.addr.com/recipes/pastrami.htm
When butchering the hindquarter, look for the largest muscle on the leg and cut it out separately. This muscle resembles a nerf football. Next cut around the leg bone and remove the rest of the meat intact. Lay the big piece out flat and cut it into two flat pieces. Trim the two pieces so they resemble a brisket flat and have uniform thickness.
Follow Randy's recipe. I use about one ounce of the cure solution per pound of meat. As Randy's instructions state, let the roasts cure for five days. 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.
Here is the recipe for 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
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. I know 145ºF seems contrary to the finish temperature for the pastrami recipe, but pastrami is supposed to be somewhat dry.
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
Finally, I will end with this note. Some people advise covering venison with bacon to help keep the interior of the meat moist. In my not so humble opinion, this is a BBQ myth. The rendering of the bacon may help keep the exterior of the meat moist, but it does not help the interior stay moist. All the bacon does is form a barrier between the venison and smoke you are trying to expose it to.
Lager,
Juggy