Smoked Venison Dried Beef

[Bearcarver]

Going on 25 lbs made this Spring with more to make!
I can’t get enough of this stuff.
Twelve lbs finished up Saturday

That's Great, Ishi !!
I'm Real glad you're enjoying that stuff!!
Thanks for the Comment!

Bear

 

[Psmowrey]

New to the forum, but have been doing home processing and sausage making for the past few years. I've been paying for cured/dried venison backstrap/hams over the years and I'm tired of paying for this and know I can do it myself.

I have a home made smoking box that I attach to my Traeger that I've used for cold smoking sausage and I think this would be perfect to do for cured dried venison. I under stand the process and have read through a lot of these posts.

I see that you slice your product thin at the end and then freeze it. When I've gotten this from my processor in the past, it is always in whole pieces. Is there a reason other than personal preference that you slice your end product? Would there be any different process to keeping pieces whole and just slicing when using?

Thanks in advance

 

[Bearcarver]

New to the forum, but have been doing home processing and sausage making for the past few years. I've been paying for cured/dried venison backstrap/hams over the years and I'm tired of paying for this and know I can do it myself.

I have a home made smoking box that I attach to my Traeger that I've used for cold smoking sausage and I think this would be perfect to do for cured dried venison. I under stand the process and have read through a lot of these posts.

I see that you slice your product thin at the end and then freeze it. When I've gotten this from my processor in the past, it is always in whole pieces. Is there a reason other than personal preference that you slice your end product? Would there be any different process to keeping pieces whole and just slicing when using?

Thanks in advance

I wouldn't see why you couldn't freeze it in hunks.

I slice it all first because prior to making Dried Beef myself, my Processor used to slice it for me too. He had a conveyor belt that went downhill from his auto-slicer & fell right into a container.
I also like to slice the whole batch all at once, so the slicer can be washed up & put away.
If I did a little at a time, we'd have to wash the slicer too many times.

Also, You can cold smoke this stuff for awhile, but I've found it best if you finish it up to around 160° Internal Temp, for the best Flavor & Texture.

Bear

 

[Psmowrey]

I wouldn't see why you couldn't freeze it in hunks.

I slice it all first because prior to making Dried Beef myself, my Processor used to slice it for me too. He had a conveyor belt that went downhill from his auto-slicer & fell right into a container.
I also like to slice the whole batch all at once, so the slicer can be washed up & put away.
If I did a little at a time, we'd have to wash the slicer too many times.

Also, You can cold smoke this stuff for awhile, but I've found it best if you finish it up to around 160° Internal Temp, for the best Flavor & Texture.

Bear

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!

I think that my smoking box can get to a higher temp, just crank up my Traeger to high. So I don't think getting to that 160° internal temp wont be an issue.

Also, do you break down your primal hind quarter cuts into smaller pieces for shorter curing times or leave them whole? Most of the pieces I usually get from my processor are "log" like maybe 2" think and 4-5" long.

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!

I think that my smoking box can get to a higher temp, just crank up my Traeger to high. So I don't think getting to that 160° internal temp wont be an issue.

Also, do you break down your primal hind quarter cuts into smaller pieces for shorter curing times or leave them whole? Most of the pieces I usually get from my processor are "log" like maybe 2" think and 4-5" long.

If you look at my Venison Dried Beef made from Hind Quarters, you'll see I took the Hind Quarters apart into the 3 pieces. When I used to take mine to a processor, he used to brine the whole Hind Quarter. Then I got one back that was spoiled (Green & Stinky). He said it was because when he deboned it, the brine didn't get into the hole from the bones. So from that day forward, I started deboning them myself & giving them to him in 3 pieces, just like I do now. He used to bitch about it, saying it was more work. I told him he's not going to ruin another one of my Hind Quarters!!!
So Break them down to no thicker than 3" pieces.

Bear

 

[archeryrob]

The next one I shoot I am making deer ham again. Debating on trying the footballs aging and curing longer and warmer (40) or just curing the flatter roasts and steaking the footballs.

The young teacher, daughter, got be sick and I can't be quiet in a tree stand yet. Been waiting on bucks that aren't showing and the next time im out and good horns or good doe walks past their will be curing in a few days.

 

[Bearcarver]

The next one I shoot I am making deer ham again. Debating on trying the footballs aging and curing longer and warmer (40) or just curing the flatter roasts and steaking the footballs.

The young teacher, daughter, got be sick and I can't be quiet in a tree stand yet. Been waiting on bucks that aren't showing and the next time im out and good horns or good doe walks past their will be curing in a few days.

Hi Rob!!
The football is fine, but I recommend keeping the pieces no thicker than 2" on Venison. I normally Cure things up to 3" thick, without injecting.
However not Venison. I think it's because it's so lean & dense, it takes a couple more days to cure than all pork & most Beef.
So if the football is over 3" thick, which I doubt, I would cut it in half, or inject it.

Bear

 

[Psmowrey]

Had a successful weekend in the field. Brought back two whitetail doe and I'm going to de-bone the hams this evening and hopefully begin the curing process tonight or tomorrow. I'll keep y'all up to speed on my first try curing and smoking these ham pieces.

Patrick

 

[Bearcarver]

Had a successful weekend in the field. Brought back two whitetail doe and I'm going to de-bone the hams this evening and hopefully begin the curing process tonight or tomorrow. I'll keep y'all up to speed on my first try curing and smoking these ham pieces.

Patrick

That's Great Patrick!!
So You'll be separating those Hind Quarter Hams into 3 smaller pieces each?

Bear

 

[Psmowrey]

Yes, Planning on separating into three pieces and maybe cutting into smaller hunks if larger than 3" thick. The pieces i get from my processor tend to be smaller and look like the size of half to a quarter of a pork tenderloin or a backstrap.

I don't own a slicer, so that is why I'm thinking about doing like my processor does. We will see how big the primal cuts are after I de-bone.

I know this is beef, but this is the size I'm hoping to be able to cut into.

Patrick

 

[archeryrob]

There is two flat roast like that in each hind leg and one rounder "football" and that is the one that could be too thick possibly and just halve it if you need too. Plus the top of the hind piece some call the extra loin. I package that like a small back strap. I process myself as when I have used a processor I have felt like I lost meat.

Picture for reference.

 

[Psmowrey]

There is two flat roast like that in each hind leg and one rounder "football" and that is the one that could be too think and just halve it. Plus the top of the hind piece some call the extra loin. I package that like a small back strap. I process myself as when I have used a processor I have felt like I lost meat.

Picture for reference.

Thanks for the input. I see most of the pics from here shows them on an expanded metal grill rack. With my setup, I don't have racks yet, just "meat" or "bacon hangars". Will I encounter any problems If I hang my hunks of meant when smoking instead on laying flat on a surface?

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks for the input. I see most of the pics from here shows them on an expanded metal grill rack. With my setup, I don't have racks yet, just "meat" or "bacon hangars". Will I encounter any problems If I hang my hunks of meant when smoking instead on laying flat on a surface?

The very first Picture at the beginning of this Thread is of the 6 pieces I cut from 2 Hind Quarters. Like Rob, I cut them myself, so I know there was none missing.
2 Footballs & 4 flatter pieces. None were over 3" Thick, in fact the thickest piece was about 2" Thick.
They work Great just laying them on a rack, but if you feel you have to hang them for some reason, you could get some small net bags.

Bear

 

[archeryrob]

Those roasts will smoke sitting on a rack or hanging from bacon hooks or tied and hung with butchers twine. If you got them lathered in cure, salt and brown sugar yesterday and in the fridge you still have a bout 9 days to consider how to best do it with your smoker.

 

[Psmowrey]

Those roasts will smoke sitting on a rack or hanging from bacon hooks or tied and hung with butchers twine. If you got them lathered in cure, salt and brown sugar yesterday and in the fridge you still have a bout 9 days to consider how to best do it with your smoker.

So I got everything cut up, bagged and cured in my fridge last night. Still need to cube up the shoulder meat for sausage today. I also tried getting my smoke box up to the temp It needs to be and was unsuccessful (only got it to 90). Going to try again after work with shorter tubing from traeger to box and see if that makes a difference. If I cant make that work, I'm going to have to come up with something else or try and run my big offset smoker at a really low temp (which is somewhat hard).

This box works great for cold smoking, but might not do such a great job for the hotter cooks. Has anyone tried cold smoking these hams for a number of hours then finishing in oven until temp of 158 internal is reached?

Thanks,
Patrick

 

[Bearcarver]

So I got everything cut up, bagged and cured in my fridge last night. Still need to cube up the shoulder meat for sausage today. I also tried getting my smoke box up to the temp It needs to be and was unsuccessful (only got it to 90). Going to try again after work with shorter tubing from traeger to box and see if that makes a difference. If I cant make that work, I'm going to have to come up with something else or try and run my big offset smoker at a really low temp (which is somewhat hard).

This box works great for cold smoking, but might not do such a great job for the hotter cooks. Has anyone tried cold smoking these hams for a number of hours then finishing in oven until temp of 158 internal is reached?

Thanks,
Patrick

Since it will be cured, that's what I was going to suggest:
Smoke it at your achievable 90° for as long as you want---Get plenty of Smoke on it.
Then put it in the oven at anywhere from 180° to 250°, until the IT gets anywhere between 160° and 170°.

Bear

 

[archeryrob]

Yea, do what bear said until you get another hot smoker eventually. You can try some plain smoked and some sugar glazed if you'd like. Put the glaze on the end in the oven just like a honey ham. go high on the temp when glazing at the end.

Sugar Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp Honey
1Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Pineapple juice

 

[Psmowrey]

I took all of the venison pieces out of the cure and rinsed them off and set them in an ice bath today at lunch. This evening I'm going to be seasoning them up and letting them rest overnight. Smoking starts first thing in the morning. I've fiddled with my cold smoking box some to try and get the temp up but to no avail. I will be going with 8 or so hours of cold smoke from Traeger and picked up an "a-maze-n smoker" to suppliment as well, then into the oven to finish them off. I'll post pics of the seasoned meat this evening.

Wish me Luck!!

Patrick

 

[Psmowrey]

What would happen if I hung one of the pieces of cured and cold smoked venison ham to age? Would it spoil or is there a change it would turn into a dried "venison proscuitto"?

I'm gonna finish them in the oven tonight but was just curious what would happen if I hung one.

Patrick

 

[Bearcarver]

What would happen if I hung one of the pieces of cured and cold smoked venison ham to age? Would it spoil or is there a change it would turn into a dried "venison proscuitto"?

I'm gonna finish them in the oven tonight but was just curious what would happen if I hung one.

Patrick

If it's just cured like I do them in this Step by Step, it would spoil if unrefrigerated for a long time.
There may be ways of doing what you're asking about, but That would call for a different way of curing it, and I believe the use of Cure #2. That's over my Pay Grade, as I was never interested in doing that. I like My Venison Dried Beef too much the way it is.

Bear