Whole Roasted Venison Shoulder

[HunterGatherer]

I started doing this with deer shoulders awhile back and it saves a ton of butchering time and makes super tasty, fork tender meat. Think pulled pork, but seasoned venison …

Before ^ and After v

Here’s a good recipe but you can season it however you like and just follow the cooking instructions. Enjoy

Slow Cooked Deer Shoulder Recipe - Senegalese Venison Shoulder

A recipe for slow cooked deer shoulder, done with flavors of Senegal. Venison shoulder, onions, garlic, cumin and mustard all slow cooked until tender.

honest-food.net

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Makes a good pot roast too.

 

[MarkOrtiz]

I do the same thing, but i debone it to save freezer space. I cut everything off the bone and keep it in as large of pieces as possible then vacuum seal it all together.

 

[hiker270]

On occassion I will take a hind quarter off a small deer and Inject it with a marinade of my choosing and put a dry rub on the outside and layer a couple pieces of bacon on top and wrap in tinfoil and slow oven roast at 180-200 degrees for 6-8 hours. Always turns out to be some of the best eating venison.

 

[HunterGatherer]

I do the same thing, but i debone it to save freezer space. I cut everything off the bone and keep it in as large of pieces as possible then vacuum seal it all together.

Right. If it’s cooked properly you can just slide the shoulder blade out easily and vac pack the leftovers.

 

[jhirschey]

How do you freeze the whole shoulder or hind quarter vacuum seal or wrap?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

How do you freeze the whole shoulder or hind quarter vacuum seal or wrap?

I’ve never owned a vacuum sealer. I’ve planned to get one for years, We usually used ziplock freezer bags and/or freezer paper. I normally turn hams into steaks, but my dad always insists on at least one leg roast. Last year, it only needed to be frozen until Christmas, so I made do with a tightly wrapped double garbage bag.

 

[R boar]

I’ve never owned a vacuum sealer. I’ve planned to get one for years, We usually used ziplock freezer bags and/or freezer paper. I normally turn hams into steaks, but my dad always insists on at least one leg roast. Last year, it only needed to be frozen until Christmas, so I made do with a tightly wrapped double garbage bag.

Dude. Get a chamber vac and 4mil bags. I did that ziploc bs for way too long before I finally bought a vp215. Best ~$1000 I ever spent

 

[journeyman713]

I started doing this with deer shoulders awhile back and it saves a ton of butchering time and makes super tasty, fork tender meat. Think pulled pork, but seasoned venison …

Before ^ and After v

Here’s a good recipe but you can season it however you like and just follow the cooking instructions. Enjoy

Slow Cooked Deer Shoulder Recipe - Senegalese Venison Shoulder

A recipe for slow cooked deer shoulder, done with flavors of Senegal. Venison shoulder, onions, garlic, cumin and mustard all slow cooked until tender.

honest-food.net

Interesting. What does the Bone-in do to the gaminess in the flavor in this recipe?

 

[HunterGatherer]

Interesting. What does the Bone-in do to the gaminess in the flavor in this recipe?

I have never eaten a piece of elk or deer that I harvested that tasted gamey. I know it happens - maybe I’ve just been lucky but I think it comes down to field care and getting the internal temperature, at the bone, down to refrigerator temperatures within the first 24-48 hours after harvest. “Bone sour “ is real and is caused by the bone holding heat for a long time even when the exterior of the meat has cooled. If it’s too warm during the pack out and ride home I’ll sometimes make a cut down the hinds to expose the bone while it’s hanging to prevent this.

Cooking meat with the bone in actually seems to add flavor and just saves a lot of steps.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Interesting. What does the Bone-in do to the gaminess in the flavor in this recipe?

Never had a piece of meat taste gamey except for a deer that a guide waited 14 hours to field dress.

Bone-in cuts usually improve the flavor for properly processed meat.

 

[journeyman713]

Never had a piece of meat taste gamey except for a deer that a guide waited 14 hours to field dress.

Bone-in cuts usually improve the flavor for properly processed meat.

I have never eaten a piece of elk or deer that I harvested that tasted gamey. I know it happens - maybe I’ve just been lucky but I think it comes down to field care and getting the internal temperature, at the bone, down to refrigerator temperatures within the first 24-48 hours after harvest. “Bone sour “ is real and is caused by the bone holding heat for a long time even when the exterior of the meat has cooled. If it’s too warm during the pack out and ride home I’ll sometimes make a cut down the hinds to expose the bone while it’s hanging to prevent this.

Cooking meat with the bone in actually seems to add flavor and just saves a lot of steps.

This is interesting to hear. Many years ago, I used to have a butcher process my venison, he used a bone saw with bone in, this was some of the gamiest venison I’ve ever had.
Since then, I’ve processed it myself, always deboning, and even my pickiest critics have been impressed by flavors.
Maybe it’s a combination of factors, getting my own deer back, probably doesn’t hurt either. Lol.
Processing the front shoulders is nothing I look forward to, I’ll give it a shot, thanks.

 

[HunterGatherer]

This is interesting to hear. Many years ago, I used to have a butcher process my venison, he used a bone saw with bone in, this was some of the gamiest venison I’ve ever had.
Since then, I’ve processed it myself, always deboning, and even my pickiest critics have been impressed by flavors.
Maybe it’s a combination of factors, getting my own deer back, probably doesn’t hurt either. Lol.
Processing the front shoulders is nothing I look forward to, I’ll give it a shot, thanks.

No disrespect to wild game processors but I like to process all my own meat. I’ll spend a whole week (partial days) doing butchery, jerky, bone stock, etc etc and it’s an enjoyable experience that just adds to the whole hunting journey

 

[Bugger]

How do you freeze the whole shoulder or hind quarter vacuum seal or wrap?

For fronts you can use the vac bag rolls and cut to the length you need. For rears I typically save them as muscle groups but have saved whole hams by wrapping tightly a couple times in plastic wrap, gotta be careful not to bang it around but it keeps the freezer burn at bay for quite a while that way.

 

[svivian]

How do you freeze the whole shoulder or hind quarter vacuum seal or wrap?

Several wraps in plastic wrap then butcher paper to finish. I’ve gotten two years out of this method.

 

[Boarmaster]

I cook them whole. They make good taco meat or shredded meat.

 

[idelkslayer]

I started doing bone in shoulder roasts several years ago. It always turns out great and has made me question if the silverskin is as much of a bad flavor culprit as I used to think. Cooking the whole shoulder or cooking Osso Buco for that matter leaves a lot of sinew and silver skin in between the muscles that melts and adds to the moisture in the meat. Despite that it tastes great. Maybe the difference is in whether those membranes and sinews are slow cooked and allowed to melt or cooked hot and fast like with steaks and become a tough outer layer. I still trim as much of it as I can and cut off any large pieces of fat and membranes before roasting.

 

[HunterGatherer]

I started doing bone in shoulder roasts several years ago. It always turns out great and has made me question if the silverskin is as much of a bad flavor culprit as I used to think. Cooking the whole shoulder or cooking Osso Buco for that matter leaves a lot of sinew and silver skin in between the muscles that melts and adds to the moisture in the meat. Despite that it tastes great. Maybe the difference is in whether those membranes and sinews are slow cooked and allowed to melt or cooked hot and fast like with steaks and become a tough outer layer. I still trim as much of it as I can and cut off any large pieces of fat and membranes before roasting.

For sure you need to slow cook it. Gives it a similar mouth feel to marbled fat, which elk and deer lack. The connective tissue is also really good for you.

 

[menhaden_man]

I started doing this with deer shoulders awhile back and it saves a ton of butchering time and makes super tasty, fork tender meat. Think pulled pork, but seasoned venison …
View attachment 947450
Before ^ and After vView attachment 947451

Here’s a good recipe but you can season it however you like and just follow the cooking instructions. Enjoy

Slow Cooked Deer Shoulder Recipe - Senegalese Venison Shoulder

A recipe for slow cooked deer shoulder, done with flavors of Senegal. Venison shoulder, onions, garlic, cumin and mustard all slow cooked until tender.

honest-food.net

Awesome post I’ll do this with our next deer, hopefully tomorrow