Smoking meat

[Buckshot85]

I’ve been wanting to try smoking some deer meat. I don’t want to go overboard, just start out slow, inexpensive and simple to see if it’s something we’d enjoy doing.
I love a good smoked slab of meat. I’ll gorge myself on it till I’m sick and keep eating.
Anyway, any recommendations on brands, techniques, recipes, etc....would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Jump on Hank Shaw’s Honest Food website and see what he has for smoked venison and start there. He’s a pretty solid source. There may be a pastrami recipe on there too that’ll tickle your fancy.

Are you looking for a smoker too? If so, a Grilla Silverback pellet grill works awesome here at home. We have a Pitboss at work that’s been heads and shoulders above a Traeger. Rectec and Green Mountain make good pellet grills too.

 

[peterk123]

Smoke the ribs of you have them. I pressure cook them for ten minutes to tenderize then use the 3,2,1 method in the smoker.

Then there is pastrami. I use a roast. Wet cure and add some picking spice. Then i use a mixture of black pepper, caraway seeds and garlic for a rub. Smoke until internal temp hits 150.

Both of these are over the top good.

 

[Buckshot85]

Damn, my mouth is watering all ready.
Lol
I am looking for an inexpensive smoker as well just to see if i want to stick with it.

 

[PNWGATOR]

You can find an inexpensive smoker on Craigslist. A charcoal type I’m guessing. They’re a bit of a pita to thermoregulate and to get sorted with soaked wood chips etc, but they work and are capable of turning out darn good food. They just take attention. This time of year a blanket wrap comes in handy to help holding temperature.

Lotta good bbq forums out there and a lot of guys building their own smokers. Might be worth digging around for an hour to see what those in the know have figured out.

 

[Buckshot85]

Appreciate the tips.

 

[switchback270]

check out the bearded butchers on youtube

 

[Hoosier.270]

I’ve been wanting to try smoking some deer meat. I don’t want to go overboard, just start out slow, inexpensive and simple to see if it’s something we’d enjoy doing.
I love a good smoked slab of meat. I’ll gorge myself on it till I’m sick and keep eating.
Anyway, any recommendations on brands, techniques, recipes, etc....would be greatly appreciated.

I like to take the shoulders and smoke them like a pork butt using my camp chef smoke vault with hickory. Find a good run you like, smoke for a few hours at 180-200 in an aluminum pan, then foil it until it’s done!

 

[Huntinaz]

Get you a smoker. If you like to cook or at least grill and like the taste of smoked meat then a smoker is for you

I use a cheap propane smoker. It’s a pain to baby it sometimes but it does the job and makes great food. Something like this:
Propane smoker Home Depot

If you don’t like to cook and want to pay for convenience get a traeger or electric smoker where you can set it and forget it

An easy venison recipe that works great with lean wild meat like deer and elk

1. Brine a roast in a simple brine for 12-48 hrs
2. Take out of brine and rinse off. Pat dry. Rub with spices (or you can seat it in oil, usually don’t). Cook on low between 150-220 degrees for several hours until internal temp is around 125. I don’t have a fancy meat thermometer that alerts me when ready, after a few hours I just start checking the center until I get there
3. When you get to 125 remove and wrap in several layers of aluminum foil and set on counter or put in ice chest (without ice) for an hour to allow juices to return. The internal temp will continue to rise about 10 degrees
4. Remove from foil, slice thin and enjoy. We like to make sandwiches

 

[Buckshot85]

Thank you, Sir

 

[Dorny]

Agree With Huntinaz. Get you a smoker! Our family started with propane smokers, but as said, they're a real pita to maintain. when we switched to masterbuilt electric smokers, our quality and consistency improved greatly. We use them for all kinds of stuff, and along with the grinder, stuffer, and mixer, we never step foot in a butcher shop except for ground pork and beef to mix in. anyway...off topic. My favorite straight venson cut in the smoker is the neck.

Rather than filleting out the neck, just chop it off in one big chunk, or separate into 2 if its big. apply mustard to hold your rub, then wrap in bacon and secure bacon with toothpicks. The bacon just keeps moisture in. i usually end up tossing it as it gets really burnt. then cook at 225, just like cooking a pork shoulder making pulled pork. usually smoked all day. shred it and barbecue.....tastes A LOT like normal pulled pork. Sorry...dont have pics of this.

 

[Buckshot85]

Appreciate this, Dorny

 

[Desk Jockey]

I started a few years back. I went with a Weston cabinet smoker right out of the gate. it is big and was probably 2x the cost of that master built one above. It works fine but it is basically a cabinet and a propane burner with a tray for smoke chips. I could probably get a similar result on my propane grill with a smoke box for a lot less $$ For the 3-4x a year I use it. I think cabinet smokers are great for big hams or large batches of sausage and stuff but mine is overkill for a single roast or a rack of ribs. for Ease of use, I would have started with a pellet grill and maybe never bought a cabinet smoker.

 

[LostArra]

I use my smoker (electric) for reverse sear of loins. Smoke at 225 until internal meat temp is around 115-118 (about an hour) then rest a little then sear on grill or in skillet. Medium rare edge-to-edge inside with nice crust outside. Smoke flavor is light but delicious. For deer and elk I use hickory, pecan or mesquite.


We also smoke burgers which is nice if doing a lot. Put them on a foiled sheet pan with a rack on it. We used to sear them after smoking but most of the time we add cheese and go straight to a bun. They are juicy and tasty.

 

[Elkslayer67]

An easy one to start with https://www.walmart.com/ip/Masterbu...=5428_4089_5603954_5996281&wpa_bucket=__bkt__

 

[Jake”0”]

Don’t have any recommendations on a smoker other than git one or build one but I love German or summer sausage easy to build and delicious brats just find you a good outfit that peddles seasonings they generally have their own variation on all the classics. Stuff cold smoke at 120 and then finish in water bath till 150 internal throw in a ice bath to finish cooking dry slice and package lotsa work but simple as hell watsons is a good outfit for supplies equip. Lots good sites out there for all process best part of my hunting is turning the game to tasty treats for friends family and hunting bait for landowners goes a long ways to show your appreciation for them letting you hunt

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I've smoked whole whitetail backstraps a couple times using the method described below with good results. One time was on a stock Masterbuilt electric smoker using cherry chips, and the other time was on a Masterbuilt electric modified with an external smoke box (aka, "mailbox mod") to enable burning whole logs (oak in this case) instead of just chips.

1. Soak meat overnight in a brine consisting of water, kosher salt, and brown sugar at a 16:1:1 ratio (by volume).
2. Remove meat from brine, pat dry with paper towel, coat lightly with kosher salt and black pepper.
3. Smoke at 250-275°F until internal meat temperature reaches 125°F (didn't take long, maybe 30-45 min).
4. Sear meat on a hot grill (500-600°F) for about 1 minute per side.

 

[Buckshot85]

Excellent, MM

 

[Buckhunter1955]

A couple of racks of Jerkey on my Trager Grill

 

[AdamJames89]

It seems to me that it is so difficult that I have never done this. I once smoked goose meat and nothing came of it. So I'm afraid to try something else