Crock-Smoking?

[pistolpete]

Hi friends,

I smoked some venison loins over the weekend, and learned a lot. They were good, but needed more smoke and a rub. They were also a bit dry, so I was wondering if one could combine the best of both a crock pot and a smoker for these lean meats to try to keep them moist - what I mean is, to smoke a roast sitting in an inch or 2 of water/spices, uncovered... anyone ever try it? Any other means of getting juicier lean meats, without adding fat/grease?

Thanks,

Pete

 

[geek with fire]

Depending on how long you smoked him, it's important to note that after a certain amount of time, you no longer need to impart any smoke to the meat. With most meats, after you get the smoke you want, you can wrap the meat in foil with some moisture (juice, beer, whatever you want) included and continue to cook it until you hit the temperature you want. Also, make sure you allow time for your meat to rest after you take it off of the smoker so the juices can redistribute throughout the meat. At least a half an hour, but what's better is if you wrap the foiled meat with a towel, and stick it in beer cooler for a couple of hours.

I'm not a big fan of deer meat, so I'm afraid I can't help you past this.

Hope that helps,

 

[hawgheaven]

Dang! I gotta get my glasses updated... when I first saw this post, I thought I read "crack" instead of "crock"...

And I never even touch the stuff...

Anyway, I agree with Mr. Geek... foil it with some liquid and let it cook till you reach the temp you want. I'm guessing (as I've never done venison) that you'd want the internal temp to get to at least 140-150, then foil (please correct me if my temps are off here hunters).

Good luck!

 

[gooose53]

You didn't mention if you injected the meat or not. That might help as well as foiling and putting in some juice of some kind (I've not smoked deer either so my thoughts might be off base). Most meat wont take anymore smoke after about 140 degrees anyway as I remember reading.

 

[kueh]

Possibly brining , injecting, and/ or foiling would help. The most important thing is not to smoke the wild meat beyond 160° as the meat will dry out. You can practice using the lean portion of pork loin with whatever techniques. Wild meats are usually extremely lean, so foiling (braising) at 150-155° will help. I've found smoking the white part of pork loin to 160° gave me a dry product. I don't foil, just let the carryover heat complete cooking.

Foiling is similar to using a crock pot. Essentially you're cooking in a moist environment aka braising. Just make sure the the crock pot is up to temperature before putting the meat in and pull the meat out of the smoker before it dries out.