Venison goes well with a smoking jacket

My family used to always say that venison tasted wild, venison tastes gamey; venison is a little too wild for me.  They were mostly correct based upon their past experiences with deer meat.  Truth is I have made some pretty rank preparations of venison before, however with time I have learned how to care for and prepare venison and not only I, but my family and friends will vouch as well, venison prepared correctly will give the best beef a run for its money.

What we need

3-5 lbs trimmed lean venison (blackstrap or roasts)

Kosher or Sea Salt

Buttermilk

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Unseasoned Tenderizer

Your favorite dry rub seasoning

Butter

Heavy duty Reynolds Wrap

Wood of choice, I use pecan and hickory

Apple cider vinegar

Tin pan

Preparation actually begins way before I even contemplate starting the fire in the smoker; proper preparation begins when the animal is taken in the field.  One should take care to field dress and cool the meat as soon as possible.  The entire process of caring for the meat from field to the freezer will actually take up a full post itself.  Suffice it to say, the faster you get the meat cleaned and cooled properly, the better the meat will taste.

Fast forward a few weeks when I am preparing to smoke some of that properly prepared venison, my process begins a few days before I put a match to the wood.  Mix brine out of water and salt (kosher or sea) and soak the venison in this mixture, I do not actually measure specific amounts of salt, I just make some good salt water.  I actually soak or brine my venison 3 times, the first brining takes about 12-24 hours, after soaking in the brine the brine will have turned red, I pour this red water off and dispose of it and make some new salt water for brining #2.  The second brining lasts between 6-12 hours.  I then pour off this pink water and repeat the process a third time usually allowing the 3rd brine to soak overnight.  The following morning I will remove the meat from the brine and soak it covered in buttermilk until ready for dry rub.

While the meat is coming to room temperature soaked in buttermilk, I get the fire going in the smoker and get it going good enough so that I can maintain the smoker at between 225 and 275 degrees by adding a piece of wood every 45 minutes or so.  Usually this entails firing the smoker enough to thoroughly heat the metal cooker, once the metal is heated to temperature the smoker usually maintains temperature really well.

Once the meat has reached room temperature I strain it out of the buttermilk bath and coat it generously with any handy dry rub.  I really rub the seasoning into each piece working it in well and place the seasoned meat on a tray.  Immediately before placing the meat on the fire I also place a tin pan in the smoker just outside the area where the firebox empties into the smoke box.  I fill this with apple cider vinegar, which as it warms and steams, keeps the meat nice and tender.  I then place the meat on the smoker and close the lid.  I will smoke venison approximately 1.5 hours per pound.  I usually divide larger pieces of meat into one pound portions so that I can keep the smoking time pretty standard.  I usually turn the meat every 20 minutes or so.

Once the meat has smoke an appropriate amount of time, I will pull it off the smoker and wrap each piece along with 1/2 stick of butter per pound of meat in double thick heavy duty Reynolds Wrap and place back in the smoker for mellowing, I usually keep the fire going at about the same rate and let the wrapped portions mellow for several hours, the last batch I prepared mellowed for approximately 4 hours before being removed from the smoker, unwrapped and eaten prior to hitting the table.

Serve with your desired beverage of choice, some smoked asparagus or some smoked corn on the cob and some roasted potatoes for a wonderful dining experience.

Not bad for a redneck.... Much Thanks and Credit go to my Brother Troxell for teaching me all I know about smoking venison...which ain't much.