Venison ham for x mas
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: timex
30-Nov-21
This can be done with any cuts of meat but I usually do the front shoulder of a medium sized doe. In a jumbo ziplock bag add 1/2 cup Mortons tender quick. 1 cup dark brown sugar. 3 tablespoons ground pepper. & 2 cups water. Add shoulder or whatever remove all air & refrigerate for 48 hours turning occasionally. Rinse thoroughly or it will be really salty. At this point it's kinda up to your imagination. I usually brush with bacon grease or olive oil & char on hot grill then into the smoker for a few hours. And this last step is not necessary but makes it really special. I wrap in foil with a few cups Apple juice & back on grill on low for about 45 minutes. The meat will be pink just like pork ham & absolutely delicious.
From: Altitude Sickness
30-Nov-21
What do you mean by rinse thoroughly. I’ve done this and it was way to salty for my taste. Do you soak it for a period in clear water? Or just rinse the outside.
From: PushCoArcher
30-Nov-21
One way to cut the saltiness is to soak it in just water for a day after it comes out of the brine or just leave it in for less time. I usually make one a year although I prefer the hind quarter of a smaller deer.
From: Altitude Sickness
30-Nov-21
Thanks Push, I would like to give it another try. I must be sensitive to the taste of salt because most fish smoking recipes are too salty for me too
From: JL
30-Nov-21
I always wanted to try and make a deer ham. Do you have to leave it on the bone? The reason I ask is I remove the glands out of the meat. If ya have to keep the bone in, it would be hard to find and remove the glands.
From: PushCoArcher
30-Nov-21
A deboned back quarter makes a good ham just tie back up with butcher twine. You don't have to do a whole quarter either you can make smaller hams from individual roast I prefer one of the flat roast in the ham over the football roast. The glands aren't to hard to remove while slicing but definitely don't want to eat any of them.
From: timex
30-Nov-21
The tender quick instructions call for 1 cup cure to 4 cups water. I use 1/2 cup cure but ya could probably use a 1/3 cup & give it a try.
From: JL
30-Nov-21
I looked at the local grocery store today for that tender quick stuff. They didn't have any.
From: midwest
30-Nov-21
midwest's Link
Highly recommend the attached for all your curing needs. I've used it for bacon, Canadian bacon, venison, turkey. Really good to have on hand and cheap!
From: timex
30-Nov-21
Good to know Midwest thanks. Morton makes a sugar cure as well but I've never tried it.
From: SIP
30-Nov-21
What does the silverskin/muscle separation taste like when done this way? I trim most of it out when cutting up for grind and leave ZERO on for steaks. Curious….
From: timex
01-Dec-21
Sip. Imo folks get really carried away with the silver skin thing with venison. That paper thin layer of membrane isn't affecting the (flavor) of your meat one bit. Just think about it. The very best beef steaks, roasts, pork roasts, hams, buts, etc are not trimmed void of all fat, gristle, tendon, etc. & if ya knew what was in store bought beef, pork or chicken burger or pork sausage or bologna & hot dog's you'd puke. But for some reason especially when it comes to burger folks get weird about silver skin on venison. Just think about a t bone or pork chop. Thats a bone in cross cut section of backstrap with tendon fat & gristle & ya eat it & love it but when it comes to venison there best not be a sliver of tendon on it ??? I'll take it a step further & say that my absolute favorite cut of venison is the leg shanks cross cut bone in for added flavor slow cooked, braised, instapot doesn't matter the texture & density of the shanks meat is amazing & it has the most tendon- silver skin of any other cut on a deer. To each his own of course. But it just doesn't make sense to me.
From: nowheels
01-Dec-21
That looks great, I might try that later this year. I also plan to make a couple of batches of pastrami, but I’ve also had problems finding curing salt at the local stores. I guess they’re just catering to the customer base, as most folks no longer cure meat.
From: SIP
04-Dec-21
Silver skin does not matter a huge amount in burger, we agree there. If you are saying it doesnt affect taste in a deer steak, then we could not disagree more. Obviously with being ground, its much smaller and not in one solid piece to be chewed or tasted individually.
I have heard that cooking the shanks in a correct manner will have the silver skin turning to a jello and ridding it of its ability to make the meat tough and gamey. The question was what does the silver skin taste like with this style of preparation. I will leave the question to someone that has tastebuds, i guess. Lol
From: timex
04-Dec-21
Sip .I'm sorry brother but it's all in your mind !!! You honestly believe that paper thin layer of connective tissue between the muscle groups affects flavor ??? Now I'm not saying I want to chew on it but that's what a knife & fork is for.
From: Hunts_with_stick
04-Dec-21
Silver skin is chewy and yes it turns to jello when in a crock or instapot. It actually adds to the flavor making it better. I’d hope that when cooking this ham it would basically disintegrate that otherwise you could end up with massive jaw muscles chewing on some of the meat.
From: Treeline
04-Dec-21
Have smoked a lot of deer shoulders. Mom always wanted one done up that way during hunting season. She would grind some and make a rice casserole with it that was the bomb! May have to go down and shoot a young doe and smoke all four quarters…
From: SIP
04-Dec-21
Timex, respectfully, if you grill a deer steak up on the grill and it has a silver skin on the outside and when you chew on it it isn’t something you notice then there’s something wrong with your taste buds. You see it as it’s in my head, I see it as I just explained it. We could probably leave it at that.
From: Altitude Sickness
04-Dec-21
How early can you make one and store it. Fridge? Freezer?
From: timex
04-Dec-21
Sip...I guess your just a filet kinda guy & I'm a t bone kinda feller how bout we leave it at that. I grew up eating venison bone in eye round steaks cause that's what my dad liked & i ate it liked it or went to bed hungry. . Being as I'm the op of this thread & for arguments sake. So ya brine a shoulder or hind quarter for 48 hours. Then smoke it for another several hours depending on size not to mention the brown sugar & black pepper. And you think your gonna (taste) that thin layer of silver skin or its gonna make the meat gamey tasting. (((REALLY)))
From: timex
04-Dec-21
Altitude sickness. No reason ya couldn't prepare ahead of time just like a fully cooked pork ham & freeze then thaw & reheat later
From: SIP
04-Dec-21
My sincerest apologies, Mr OP
From: Zbone
05-Dec-21
Thanks for sharing folks...
midwest - Would you also need a salt cure with that CURLEYS Brown Sugar Cure, or would that be all needed... Thanks...
From: Altitude Sickness
05-Dec-21
Thanks. Now to shoot another doe to make some hams.
From: Pop-r
05-Dec-21
It's Christmas!
From: timex
05-Dec-21
Dry meat venison is delicious. Similar to chipped beef & yes ...Sip... thats silver skin in there so you'd not be interested!!!
Dry meat venison is delicious. Similar to chipped beef & yes ...Sip... thats silver skin in there so you'd not be interested!!!
Zbone. I read the recipe on curleys website & it says 7 to 10 days cure time in fridge. I'm gonna give it a try but not for a ham flavor. I. Gonna try making venison dry meat. Like chipped beef. I send deboned hind quarters to a place in PA to get dry meat made. Iv tried several different recipes with tender quick & it always comes out more like pork ham than the dried chip beef. I'm always trying different things with venison. May even try putting some of the curleys cure in with some canned venison. The mortons cure is just too salty.
From: timex
05-Dec-21
Sliced very thin like chipped beef this stuff is awesome
Sliced very thin like chipped beef this stuff is awesome
I supply the hams a buddy gets it done & pays the processing & we split the meat. The whole deboned hams go into an agitated vat with cure solution for several days then into smoke house to dry then get sliced. Not only is this great for s.o.s if ya know what that is but makes great sandwiches as well.
From: timex
05-Dec-21
The beginning of my dry meat & egg sandwich for brunch. As you can see this is a cured - smoked 1/16 " thick cross cut section of a hind quarter minus the bone & glands.
From: Treeline
05-Dec-21
That dried venison looks wonderful!
I have smoked deer shoulders and hams and then wrapped and froze them. If wrapped well, they keep well in the deep freezer.
From: PushCoArcher
05-Dec-21
Timex looks great! Ever used pink salt/Prague powder to cure instead of the Morton's?
From: midwest
05-Dec-21
Zbone, the Brown Sugar Cure has the sodium nitrite in it.
You do need to use caution with how much you inject and how long you let it cure. Like anything, there is a bit of a learning curve. The first batch of Canadian bacon I made was very salty. Still edible, but I wouldn't share it with anyone.
From: timex
05-Dec-21
Pushcoarcher...no I have not tried the pink cure only mortons. I've tried several variations of pastrami recipes trying to come up with a dry meat similar flavor & it's been good but not the same. Hopefully the curleys sugar cure will give me the flavor of the stuff I get done in PA. It's been a while back but there's a venison pastrami thread on bowsite.
From: walleyes
08-Dec-21
Put a honey mustard glaze on it to finish and it was delicious. Thanks for the idea!
Put a honey mustard glaze on it to finish and it was delicious. Thanks for the idea!
From: blackbear62
08-Dec-21
At What temperature do you cook the ham and what is the final internal temperature needed for a venison ham. Thanks. Mark
From: blackbear62
08-Dec-21
At What temperature do you cook the ham and what is the final internal temperature needed for a venison ham. Thanks. Mark
From: Ambush
08-Dec-21
Timex, are you doing the front shoulder bone in? Thanks.
From: timex
09-Dec-21
Yes. Bone in as others have said you can do hind quarters as well but I just prefer a shoulder for this. Gonna do one for x Mas along with smoked bacon wrapped wild turkey brest & soup made from the legs & thy's
From: timex
09-Dec-21
Walleye that looks delicious
From: Old Reb
09-Dec-21
I would also like to know what the internal temperature needs to be so I know when the ham is done and does not become over cooked or under cooked.
From: walleyes
09-Dec-21
I did bone in hind. Total weight was 6lb. 200 for 6 hours on smoker. Finished 140 but could Probly go to 150.
From: PushCoArcher
09-Dec-21
Walleye looks great. I usually shoot for 145 degrees.
From: Pop-r
10-Dec-21
What's x Mas?
From: Altitude Sickness
28-Dec-21
Finally got around had everything line up. A fresh deer and the time to prep and smoke. A doe rear leg and front shoulder. Used the Morton’s tender quick and brown sugar. Soaked in brine for 4.5 days and then clear water for 12 hrs
Smoked 6hrs to 140 internal temp This pic is at the 5 hr mark
From: Altitude Sickness
28-Dec-21
From: Altitude Sickness
28-Dec-21
This will be a New Years meal. too late for Christmas Ham
From: Grey Ghost
29-Dec-21
I did this recipe for Christmas, only I cooked it on the grill instead of the oven. I think it's become my favorite venison meal. I'm doing it again for New Years dinner.
From: Dale06
29-Dec-21
I do not eat deer meat, don’t like, never have. But my son made a deer hind quarter into a ham few weeks ago. He brined in the Morton tender quick as shown above, I think for 4-5 days. Then smoked for 12 hours. It was outstanding!
From: blackbear62
11-Jan-22
At What temperature do you cook the ham and what is the final internal temperature needed for a venison ham. Thanks. Mark
From: Dale06
11-Jan-22
Mark, I don’t know. He used the recipe in The Meat Eater cook book, by Steve Rinell.
From: N8tureBoy
17-Jan-22
That looks amazing! Can't wait to try doing it
From: midwest
17-Jan-22
I have an antelope shoulder curing in the fridge. Going to smoke it this weekend!
