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Smoking deer shoulder

A friend gave me an electric smoker and I just so happen to have a fat little button buck in my fridge. I am wanting to smoke a shoulder this weekend and need guidance. I have smoked turkeys in the past but have never used an electric smoker and have never smoked venison. I would appreciate any tips, recipes or general information you might have.

The deer is courtesy of my 11 year old. She has been hunting since she was 7 (turkeys with her bow) and this is her third deer season. She finally elected to take a gun and low and behold look what happened on the first hunt.

80-100 yard shot and 40-50 yard recovery. I am not one to brag but I can honestly say that you don't want this kid shooting at you with either a gun or a bow.

I haven't done shoulders but I've done some small hind quarters. I've had good luck injecting marinade into the whole thing, using a good rub all over the outside, then cover the top with bacon. This helps to keep it moist & tender. At the very least use the bacon as this provides some fat to the meat & imbues a wonderful flavor. I also keep smoke going for about 2 hours (a half & half mix of mesquite & hickory) I like a good heavy smoke.

I don't have an electric smoker.....mines a home made gas one made from a stainless steel prime rib cooker from the old Timber Lodge Steak House & a single cast iron gas burner from Cabelas.

Go to cookshack's smoking forum, I would think marinating or injecting would be necessary to keep it from drying out, make sure you use dry aged wood, makes a better flavor, if you have a thermometer I have found 225 cooks everything I do, some items just take longer.

A friend of mine smoked a does hind quarters marinated in nothing else but Italian salad dressing and they came out great. He wasn't trying to smoke them until they were dried out and imitating a big jerky roast. Just a couple of hours. Basically used the smoker as an oven. He used a meat thermometer to determine when the center was rare and then pulled them off. Sliced into thin slices, placed on a plate and served up with your typical sides and it was one of the best venison roasts I have ever had. No bacon or anything other than the oil from the salad dressing. He made it along with a turkey breast and pork loin for an annual fall party he has.

I think you need to make some decisions first, do you want to cook until medium rare or do you want it to be well done. If medium rare I would marinate, cook at 350 degrees and pull off when the internal temp hits 120 degrees. Tent with some foil and let it rest for at least ten minutes and the internal temp will rise until 130 degrees. If well done then I would smoke for a few hours at 250 degrees then put into a foil pan and cover and add some liquid into the pan. When the temp reaches 195 degrees, pull off the smoker, tent for 15 minutes, than pull apart and serve with a sauce.

Only two hours to smoke a front shoulder? That sounds like not enough time. Whereas I've never smoked a shoulder, I have smoked briskets and they usually take eight to nine hours. The last one I did turned out so good, company is looking forward to the next one.

"Only two hours to smoke a front shoulder? That sounds like not enough time. Whereas I've never smoked a shoulder, I have smoked briskets and they usually take eight to nine hours. The last one I did turned out so good, company is looking forward to the next one."

If you smoked a brisket only until it had a rare center, it would be so tough you'd pull all your teeth out trying to take a bite of it. Totally different cut of meat.

So, for deer meat, two hours in a smoker at 200 degrees is all it takes? That would be gravy cooking compared to the brisket. I'll have to give it a try.

I should've been more clear. Two hours is the time I put smoke to it not the total cook time! I put it in the smoker at 125 Degrees for half an hour with both upper & lower dampers open. That helps to dry the surface of your meat a bit which helps the smoke penetrate. Then I close my dampers about half way & raise the temp to 165 degrees & add my wood chips which I've pre-soaked for a few minutes. Once it starts smoking I keep it at that temp & let it smoke for two hours. After that I raise the temp to 180 degrees or so & finish it till the interior is to what ever temp I'm going for depending on how well done you like your meat. I assumed I was talking to someone who understood smoking..........my bad!

Thanks for clarifying. I've never tried smoking anything other than brisket and chicken. I want to give the venison a try. Wonder how long it would take deer ribs to cook in a smoker?

if you have never corned a venison roast you are missing something. You will never want to have corned beef again....

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