Hi guys. I'm new around here and haven't done my homework yet but I had something come up tonight that I thought you may be able to help me with.
I'm a novice smoker. Got my Camp Chef 24" Smoke Vault for Christmas and have been playing around with it ever since. I've done some very successful pork shoulders, brisket, ribs, sausage and even mac 'n' cheese thanks to all the information on this incredible site. I've been hesitant to do venison because of how lean it is compared to other typical barbecue fare but today I decided to give it a shot. I'm not sure the name of the cut but it was a long, flat rectangular shaped roast from the rear quarter. I dry brined it for 24 hours and then, about 3 hours before cooking I added some Wildcat Holler seasoning blend that I've used before and really like. I smoked it with apple wood at 225 for about 2 1/2 hours to a perfect medium rare internal temp of 135. It looked and smelled amazing! I brought it in and began slicing it very thin, like roast beef. Perfectly done, red in the center with a beautiful pink smoke ring. OMG this is going to be amazing!! I couldn't wait anymore. I had to try a slice. I pop one in my mouth and it was... mush. The flavor was great, sweet, smokey, juicy. But the texture was like playdough. There was no body or chew to it at all. It disintegrated in my mouth like sand. We put it on some nicely toasted buns with homemade creamy coleslaw and homemade smokey bourbon bbq sauce and all the flavors together were actually really good. On it's own though, the meat was less than delicious. Do you have any idea what I could have done differently? Was it just the wrong cut? Should I have cooked to a different temp? I thought about cooking it to 205 like pork shoulder but venison doesn't have the fat and connective tissue to melt like pork. Any help or ideas you have would be appreciated.
And I promise I'll get my homework done soon.
I'm a novice smoker. Got my Camp Chef 24" Smoke Vault for Christmas and have been playing around with it ever since. I've done some very successful pork shoulders, brisket, ribs, sausage and even mac 'n' cheese thanks to all the information on this incredible site. I've been hesitant to do venison because of how lean it is compared to other typical barbecue fare but today I decided to give it a shot. I'm not sure the name of the cut but it was a long, flat rectangular shaped roast from the rear quarter. I dry brined it for 24 hours and then, about 3 hours before cooking I added some Wildcat Holler seasoning blend that I've used before and really like. I smoked it with apple wood at 225 for about 2 1/2 hours to a perfect medium rare internal temp of 135. It looked and smelled amazing! I brought it in and began slicing it very thin, like roast beef. Perfectly done, red in the center with a beautiful pink smoke ring. OMG this is going to be amazing!! I couldn't wait anymore. I had to try a slice. I pop one in my mouth and it was... mush. The flavor was great, sweet, smokey, juicy. But the texture was like playdough. There was no body or chew to it at all. It disintegrated in my mouth like sand. We put it on some nicely toasted buns with homemade creamy coleslaw and homemade smokey bourbon bbq sauce and all the flavors together were actually really good. On it's own though, the meat was less than delicious. Do you have any idea what I could have done differently? Was it just the wrong cut? Should I have cooked to a different temp? I thought about cooking it to 205 like pork shoulder but venison doesn't have the fat and connective tissue to melt like pork. Any help or ideas you have would be appreciated.
And I promise I'll get my homework done soon.
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