Deer Shoulder Cook

[Kurt Neurauter]

Well, here we go with this unique cook. A hunter-friend of mine gave me a deer shoulder - something I have never heard of cooking or have any experience with. I did a post in the Barbecuing forum and decided to go ahead and do a slow-and-low smoke with it. (Forum page: http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?52460-Deer-Shoulder-Help)

Started it about 12:30 today. Here it is with the rub applied:

Deer shoulder cook by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

The store bought rub I used - it smelled really good, I really want to try it on chicken and fish:

Deer shoulder cook by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

The start of the fire. Just a side note, I'm in Phoenix, Arizona and you know the temps here are high. To help me not jump to 300-400 degrees in the smoker I started with just 5 barely lit coals:

Deer shoulder cook by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

As mentioned above, my outside temp:

Deer shoulder cook by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

Here we go!

Deer shoulder cook by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

Who doesn't like a good graph? The second dip and rise in temperature is when I took of the lid and wrapped the shoulder in foil.

Deer shoulder cook by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

Tick Tock. The BEST THING about this cook is that friends are coming over with a beef tenderloin and I think I'm going to do it Steve Raichlen Colombian Style (http://food52.com/recipes/18568-ste...eef-tenderloin-grilled-in-cloth-lomo-al-trapo). Pictures to follow of that cook as well.

 

[Cliff Bartlett]

Looks great so far. It's been a while since I had any venison.

 

[Kurt Neurauter]

Just cut through the foil - she's right around 195-200 depending on where you probe her. Going to pull her off and let her rest in foil a bit.

Deer shoulder cook by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

 

[Bill Schultz]

Never did mine in a smoker, looking forward to the results

 

[Kurt Neurauter]

Well, here's the beef in a diaper cook along with the deer:

Meat in a Diaper by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

After the first turn:

Meat in a Diaper by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

Meat in a Diaper by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

I took it out to try to check the internal temperature and the salt inside cracked:

Meat in a Diaper by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

Can't complain about that color! The deer meat is on top:

Meat in a Diaper by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

Some sautéed mushrooms, brusselsprouts with bacon, and of course the main events:

Meat in a Diaper by KNEU Photo, on Flickr

 

[Kurt Neurauter]

Never did mine in a smoker, looking forward to the results

My Canadien friend loved it - said it was perfect, however I thought I dried it out too much. It had great flavor, however I wanted more moisture. That's what you get for such a lean animal.

 

[John Solak]

Looks good, unique cooking technique!

 

[Jason Noble]

Real nice. Thats a big hunk of venison.

 

[Colby R]

Yeah you shouldn't smoke venison dries out too easily and definitely doesn't need cooked to 200

 

[Robert T]

I think it all looks good. Nice job!

 

[Abel]

Venison shoulder or the ham quarter might work well in the Pepper Stout recipe. It needs that moisture. I typically foil the whole way with venison, with apple juice and whatever else you like, with some bacon for good measure. Then I pull it and make Q out of it with Sweet Baby Rays.

 

[ChuckO]

I'd say you nailed it, good cook

 

[Greg B.]

Thats a real neat way to cook! Never tried deer but it looks good!

 

[Tony R]

Something different. I would of loved to have a plate.

 

[Scott Hollister]

I have probably done a dozen venison shoulders on the smoker and I will not use them for anything else. They are one of my favorite smokes. A couple things that I do to help the lack of fat is after seasoning I layer 1lb of thick cut smoked bacon ( I use my homemade bacon), smoke for 3 hours at 225 or so, then wrap very tightly with foil and back on for another 4 hours or so, let rest even more than normal meats, due to lack of fat. Temp needs to be above 190 or you will have to cut it and it will be dry, I would get to 210, but I never measure, just feel of the foil package, when it doesn't hold together I take it off. When you unwrap it them meat will just fall apart, blend in bacon... I made one last night and my 11 year old son just walked by me and pulled the leftovers out of the fridge and is eating some with his eggs... It is right up there as good as a pork shoulder.