Smoked Venison Back Strap w/ 3 smoke lead up
I am going to start with a mash up of my very first three smokes. I didn’t take any pics of these and very little notes. These three previous ones led up to this backstrap smoke.
My first solo smoke was a 3 lb cut from a whole boneless pork loin. I used my brand new Electric ECB with apple chips and a few mesquite chunks mixed in. The night before I rubbed the loin with a mix of seasonings and in the morning before putting it in the smoker I wrapped it all in bacon. I added woodchips throughout the whole process to make sure it had plenty of smoke (too much). Went to 145° internal temp and covered it and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. The bacon was terrible and all got thrown away. The loin was alright but it didn’t have any bark at all due to the bacon wrap.
Take 2 about a year after the first. Same basic set up: 3 lb loin portion, electric ECB, apple and mesquite, rub applied the night before, but no bacon this time. Lighter smoke this time which was good. I believe my meat thermometer wasn’t working correctly because I hit 145° internal temp a couple hours before I expected. I foiled the whole thing and let it sit until we were ready for lunch. I was concerned it was going to be overdone and dry but it wasn’t. It was actually about perfect. I believe my probe was broken and read a higher temp than it actually was, and when I foiled it, it finished cooking.
Smoke #3 happened back at my parents’ house with my dad’s MES 40”. This time I used a mix of several chips (can’t remember then all: apple, pecan, cherry, hickory…). I had the smoker going all day. I did 5 full baby back racks, a Canadian goose breast, venison jerky, and a cottontail rabbit.
The ribs each had a different rub on them and I did the 3-2-1 method. Not quite fall off the bone when I took them out, but they were very good for my first time doing ribs.
The goose breast was brined in a simple salt and sugar water brine that my family uses for turkey breast before smoking. However wild goose breast meat is not like domestic chicken or turkey. It is a red meat and taste more like beef. This was probably over cooked because I didn’t like the pink/red color it had although it was at temp (still was thinking about white meat poultry). In the end it turned out like moist beef jerky almost, but sliced afterwards. It was AMAZING!
The venison jerky was pretty simple: Sliced it when it was still a little frozen with an electric meat slicer and used a Hi Mountain Original Jerky Kit. Followed the directions exactly. This turned out really well, just like it always has.
The rabbit was an interesting one. I found an article online and followed it exactly. My results didn’t match theirs.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/wild-chef/2013/03/recipe-how-cook-smoked-barbecue-wild-rabbit
It was SUPER spicy from the cayenne pepper, and didn’t have a bark at all so the juices and seasoning on the outside made a sort of gross mix. I ended up scraping it all off when it was done and deboning the whole rabbit. The meat was then mixed with BBQ sauce and reheated later. It wasn’t terrible but it sort of felt like a waste of a good rabbit.
After those three different smoking adventures and mishaps I decided I needed to keep better records and get some help from SMF. This led to my 4th smoke, a 2 lb cut from a venison backstrap.
Smoked Venison Backstrap
At this point I still needed to work on my notes and picture taking but it was a little better.
I started the night before by rinsing the backstrap and patting it dry with paper towels. I then coated it with yellow mustard and a rub mix. Then I put it in a zip-lock in the fridge overnight. In the morning I started my electric ECB and got some mesquite chunks going. I probed the backstrap and put it in the smoker. When it reached 145° internal temp I pulled it and covered it for 5-10 minutes. It turned out Awesome! Very moist and flavorful, not gamey at all!
I reheated slices in the microwave and made sandwiches with sharp cheddar cheese and BBQ sauce.
A few pics of the results, sorry no sandwich pics, I ate them too fast.
Came out just awesome!
Juicy and delicious!
From my lunch box.
The last three pieces before I ate them.
Thank you very much for reading about my mishaps!
PoGo
Next will be my 2nd backstrap smoke that didn't go quite as well... a link will be added when the thread is done.
****Link****
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/236301/bbq-bambi-venison-backstrap-mishap
I am going to start with a mash up of my very first three smokes. I didn’t take any pics of these and very little notes. These three previous ones led up to this backstrap smoke.
My first solo smoke was a 3 lb cut from a whole boneless pork loin. I used my brand new Electric ECB with apple chips and a few mesquite chunks mixed in. The night before I rubbed the loin with a mix of seasonings and in the morning before putting it in the smoker I wrapped it all in bacon. I added woodchips throughout the whole process to make sure it had plenty of smoke (too much). Went to 145° internal temp and covered it and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. The bacon was terrible and all got thrown away. The loin was alright but it didn’t have any bark at all due to the bacon wrap.
Take 2 about a year after the first. Same basic set up: 3 lb loin portion, electric ECB, apple and mesquite, rub applied the night before, but no bacon this time. Lighter smoke this time which was good. I believe my meat thermometer wasn’t working correctly because I hit 145° internal temp a couple hours before I expected. I foiled the whole thing and let it sit until we were ready for lunch. I was concerned it was going to be overdone and dry but it wasn’t. It was actually about perfect. I believe my probe was broken and read a higher temp than it actually was, and when I foiled it, it finished cooking.
Smoke #3 happened back at my parents’ house with my dad’s MES 40”. This time I used a mix of several chips (can’t remember then all: apple, pecan, cherry, hickory…). I had the smoker going all day. I did 5 full baby back racks, a Canadian goose breast, venison jerky, and a cottontail rabbit.
The ribs each had a different rub on them and I did the 3-2-1 method. Not quite fall off the bone when I took them out, but they were very good for my first time doing ribs.
The goose breast was brined in a simple salt and sugar water brine that my family uses for turkey breast before smoking. However wild goose breast meat is not like domestic chicken or turkey. It is a red meat and taste more like beef. This was probably over cooked because I didn’t like the pink/red color it had although it was at temp (still was thinking about white meat poultry). In the end it turned out like moist beef jerky almost, but sliced afterwards. It was AMAZING!
The venison jerky was pretty simple: Sliced it when it was still a little frozen with an electric meat slicer and used a Hi Mountain Original Jerky Kit. Followed the directions exactly. This turned out really well, just like it always has.
The rabbit was an interesting one. I found an article online and followed it exactly. My results didn’t match theirs.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/wild-chef/2013/03/recipe-how-cook-smoked-barbecue-wild-rabbit
It was SUPER spicy from the cayenne pepper, and didn’t have a bark at all so the juices and seasoning on the outside made a sort of gross mix. I ended up scraping it all off when it was done and deboning the whole rabbit. The meat was then mixed with BBQ sauce and reheated later. It wasn’t terrible but it sort of felt like a waste of a good rabbit.
After those three different smoking adventures and mishaps I decided I needed to keep better records and get some help from SMF. This led to my 4th smoke, a 2 lb cut from a venison backstrap.
Smoked Venison Backstrap
At this point I still needed to work on my notes and picture taking but it was a little better.
I started the night before by rinsing the backstrap and patting it dry with paper towels. I then coated it with yellow mustard and a rub mix. Then I put it in a zip-lock in the fridge overnight. In the morning I started my electric ECB and got some mesquite chunks going. I probed the backstrap and put it in the smoker. When it reached 145° internal temp I pulled it and covered it for 5-10 minutes. It turned out Awesome! Very moist and flavorful, not gamey at all!
I reheated slices in the microwave and made sandwiches with sharp cheddar cheese and BBQ sauce.
A few pics of the results, sorry no sandwich pics, I ate them too fast.
Came out just awesome!
Juicy and delicious!
From my lunch box.
The last three pieces before I ate them.
Thank you very much for reading about my mishaps!
PoGo
Next will be my 2nd backstrap smoke that didn't go quite as well... a link will be added when the thread is done.
****Link****
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/236301/bbq-bambi-venison-backstrap-mishap
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