Help!! 1st Deer Ham

I would inject with a brine mixture, then smoke with a bacon layer on top. I have found, with experience, wild game is lean, Therefore, you need a fat layer to baste. Bacon. Since you don't have time to brine, inject is the next best thing.

Debone and remove all silver skin is how I would handle them. I've never been a big fan of venison roasts, but my bride (she's from up nort and grew up on venison) has soaked them in milk in the fridge overnight and they turned out pretty good. I'm sure some others here will have better advice.

Edit: Like him^^^.

Kevin said:

Debone and remove all silver skin is how I would handle them. I've never been a big fan of venison roasts, but my bride (she's from up nort and grew up on venison) has soaked them in milk in the fridge overnight and they turned out pretty good. I'm sure some others here will have better advice.

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Just to add to Kevin's post. I have seen using buttermilk. The buttermilk contains acids that will break down the "gamey" taste.

Cowgirl did a venison shoulder last year ..... here's the link http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52949

This looked very good

I concur ... buttermilk brine. Just make sure it is active culture for the best results.
Or what ever Cowgirl said.

As stated earlier, the "gamey" taste in venison is most prominent in the bones and "fat". Deer really don't have much fat to speak of, but the thin shiny looking stuff that is nestled closely to the lean muscle (I call it silver skin) has a strong gamey flavor. It would be in your best interest to remove it before freezing. That undesirable flavor will overpower the taste of the venison and taint it's flavor.

And later when you want to clean out the freezer, yet don't want to waste this fine meat, you decide to make sausage from it. Deer sausage is good stuff. That nasty silver skin will trash a meat grinder in short order. This I know.

My bride contributed to this post because she knows much more about butchering venison than I do.

Yo Pappa, I have many years experience cooking venison on the smoker. I have used a lot of recipes and techniques over the years and the following recipe is the one I like best. Q'Sis posted this recipe years ago on Ray Basso's forum. It works good on lamb and chevon too.

"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"



When I use this recipe as an injection solution, I omit the vegetable oil. I make up the solution a day or two in advance so the flavors can meld. I then strain the solution so that the garlic, pepper and parsley do not clog the injecting needle. I use about an ounce of solution per pound of meat and let the meat rest for about four hours before cooking. The rub I use on venison is a combination of brisket rub and Montreal Steak Seasoning.

I cook the meat at 250ºF and the hams will take between 30 to 45 minutes per pound. I cannot stress enough to monitor the internal temperature of the meat. IMHO, anything above 155ºF is going to yield a tough and dry product. Venison is best served cooked no higher than medium. If you see that hams are going to be done earlier than expected, take them off at no higher than 150ºF and wrap them in foil and place in a cooler until needed. My preference is to take them to 145ºF, wrap them in foil and let them rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

As for the back strap, you can either marinade it in the recipe posted above. If you do marinade the loin, I would include the oil in the solution, but not if you inject. The cooking time should be the same, but I would take the loin no higher than 140ºF. So keep a close watch on that internal temperature as once the meat hits 130ºF, it won't take long to hit medium rare.

One last piece of advice on removing the silver skin from either roast. Place them in the freezer and let them sit just long enough for the exterior of the meat to freeze. When the exterior is frozen, take a sharp knife and whittle off the silver skin. You won't lose as much meat this way.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Deers to you,
Juggy

Go getem Papa! I don't have any advice but it looks like you got it under control. Lookin forward to the pron

What you are doing will be great... i typically remove silver skin as good as possible, jab with a knive and insert garlic cloves, slice along the bone and stuff with onion and jalapnoe, inject with a mixture of balsamic vinegar, orange juice and cayene, rub with spicy season all or tony c's or whatever and wrap with bacon. smoke low and slow for a while.... you can slice with a butter knife when done. as good as it gets.

Yo Papa, That bit of advice I gave about removing silver skin works both ways. When you decide to cook the remaining pieces that are in the freezer, you can remove the silver skin after the exterior of the meat has thawed and the majority of the interior is still frozen. A very sharp knife is essential to this operation.

One other thing, what you have pictured is not a shoulder, it is hind leg or commonly referred to as a ham. Most of the deer shoulders I have seen do not have enough meat on them to make them worth while cooking as roasts. There are a lot of small muscles surrounded by silver skin on the shoulders. Most folks around my neck of the woods use the shoulder muscles for making jerky or grind them up for burger.

Sorry to hear that you over shot your target temp. That happens to the best of us. The meat does have a nice color to it. One thing you can do when you reheat the meat is this. Sprinkle water on the slices before you reheat them in the microwave. Reduce the power setting to 30% and this will reheat the meat slowly. I use this 30% power method for reheating almost all my barbecue. Full power just makes the meat tough and overcooks it as well.

Lager,

Juggy