Hey Y'all

[candycoated]

I have a lot of questions, but don't worry, I like to read. :)

I mostly wanted to sign-up so I can use the 'follow' function to 'bookmark' people who have shared good information. Speaking of good information, I've been reading other foodie forums for awhile now, finally I found this place and was able to find some organized tutorials and recipes for smoking. Thanks y'all!

My husband killed his first deer since we've been married, so it's time for me to learn how to smoke. I've always wanted a smoker, so I'm really excited to take this on!

I do like to bake, cook, make candy, and grill. I have a CharBroil propane 4 burner grill top, very well seasoned, I'll use it till it falls apart. I grill lots of split breasts, sausage, hamburgers, and sometimes 1.5-2" ribeyes. Quick, outside, great flavor, you can't beat it!

I'm looking at the big box brands' of smokers, propane. Masterbuilt, Landmann, etc., with suggested minor mods.

I'd like to start with whole chickens, then on to beef brisket and pork ribs, and maybe one day I'll be able to smoke deer sausage that I made myself. Any guidance towards information on preparing wild game would be appreciated, I've got deboned front shoulders, hind haunches, and back strap in my freezer.

 

[s2k9k]

to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 40,000 members and over 800,000 posts so you should be able to find almost anything you want to know. Remember the search bar at the top can be your best friend for finding answers fast!

You might want to check out Jeff's Free 5 day E-course it will teach you all the basics and a whole lot more!

 

[jrod62]

Welcome to SMF :welcome1:

 

[kathrynn]

......Glad to have another lady here on the Forum!  Cant wait to see what you are up to...show pictures!!!!!

 

[sound1]

Welcome to the group. 2" Rib eye, crunchy on the outside, RARE in the midsection...you just cant get much better than that!!

 

[candycoated]

Thanks for the welcome all y'all!

Lady KathrynN, nice to meet you. Now don't go putting to much pressure on me, I'm new at this! But maybe one day I'll be able to contribute with a picture of some gorgeous smoked bacon basketweave meat prepared by me!

Sound1, oh those ribeyes, why must they be so expensive!!  I guess I could post a pic of my grilled breasts. The skin is unedibly burnt, but pull it back and the meat is juicy. Can't wait to try a smoked chicken with crispy edible skin.

I signed up for the free 5 day e-course from the site owner here, I should be getting chapter 4 this evening.

I'd like to get a couple of books to help me figure out how to prepare venison. My SIL gave me this book of hers:

51MUn23liTL._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRigh

• candycoated
• Dec 19, 2012

It's vague, especially in the smoking chapter. The canning information was better. It does offer pretty good general information for a total newbie, so I did find it helpful.

I noticed this book has been mentioned several times on this forum:

51FTlfqQaaL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

• candycoated
• Dec 19, 2012

I want to get this book. I'm hoping it will explain in detail the different saltpeter/ nitrate salt mixtures I've read about, along with recipes. I certainly don't want to make anyone sick with dangerous bacteria.

Also, will this book explain how to safely prepare these different slabs of deer meat I have for other foods besides sausage?

This is what I've done to the meat so far:

Hopefully my husband did a good job butchering the animal, he didn't get the tenderloin, we are both learning. It's a white tail doe, they figured about 6-8 yrs old by her teeth. We bled the quartered pieces in an ice chest, bone-in, in ice-cold water, till the water ran pretty clear, took about 3 days. Deboned it, vacuum sealed, wrapped in freezer paper, placed it in the freezer.

Now what!? :)

 

[humdinger]

Welcome Candycoated!

For Deer/venison, you can never go wrong with Jerky! Deer jerky is great because everyone loves it. You can keep all you want, and have no problem giving the rest away to friends (and selling it to family)!!! lol jk

Take care. Good to have you. Holler with any questions.

 

[kathrynn]

Deer Jerky is the bomb!  A long time ago some friends would have a Good Beer/Bad Stew (the stew was wonderful) party after Deer season was over.  They would use smaller chunks of the deer meat and make a Brunswick stew of sorts.  The meats that were a bit tougher would soften and just taste sooooo good.  And of course the beer was great too!

 

[candycoated]

Well, I'll take y'all's advice and look in to making deer jerky too. I think I would enjoy that. :)

I got some deer soup and fried deer steak information from some family members. All of them pay someone to process their meat, so they were no help in the smoking department. Again, thank you smf!

So I had an adventure yesterday that's relevant to this forum.

My husband went to sight in his 270 out where he hunts, there's some nice dirt berms out there. He invited me along to do some target shooting with pistols while the rifle cooled down. After he sighted in his gun, we drove around, came up on 3 sows and their piglets munching at a corn feeder. Husband jumped out of the truck, Bam! Now we have two hams soaking in an ice chest!

I recently read a thread, I swear it was here, and someone gave a little tutorial w/ pics on how to process your own sausage casings. I have been using the search function, but I can not find it. I should have bookmarked it, dang!

 

[rtbbq2]

Thanks for the welcome all y'all!

Lady KathrynN, nice to meet you. Now don't go putting to much pressure on me, I'm new at this! But maybe one day I'll be able to contribute with a picture of some gorgeous smoked bacon basketweave meat prepared by me!

Sound1, oh those ribeyes, why must they be so expensive!!  I guess I could post a pic of my grilled breasts. The skin is unedibly burnt, but pull it back and the meat is juicy. Can't wait to try a smoked chicken with crispy edible skin.

I signed up for the free 5 day e-course from the site owner here, I should be getting chapter 4 this evening.

I'd like to get a couple of books to help me figure out how to prepare venison. My SIL gave me this book of hers:

51MUn23liTL._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRigh

• candycoated
• Dec 19, 2012

It's vague, especially in the smoking chapter. The canning information was better. It does offer pretty good general information for a total newbie, so I did find it helpful.

I noticed this book has been mentioned several times on this forum:

51FTlfqQaaL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

• candycoated
• Dec 19, 2012

I want to get this book. I'm hoping it will explain in detail the different saltpeter/ nitrate salt mixtures I've read about, along with recipes. I certainly don't want to make anyone sick with dangerous bacteria.

Also, will this book explain how to safely prepare these different slabs of deer meat I have for other foods besides sausage?

This is what I've done to the meat so far:

Hopefully my husband did a good job butchering the animal, he didn't get the tenderloin, we are both learning. It's a white tail doe, they figured about 6-8 yrs old by her teeth. We bled the quartered pieces in an ice chest, bone-in, in ice-cold water, till the water ran pretty clear, took about 3 days. Deboned it, vacuum sealed, wrapped in freezer paper, placed it in the freezer.

Now what!? :)

In my opinion this is the best book written by the guy who started the sausagemaker.com. The best place to buy it is from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. I have this book and it is great.

Good luck and have fun making sausage..