Smoked Venison Roast like Prime Rib with QView!!!

[tallbm]

This is my first ever attempt at smoked a Top and Bottom Round Venison Roast from an Axis doe I shot this season. This was my first even Venison roast smoke and WOW it was amazing! Pics first and then a write up after.

Top and Bottom Round Roast Marinating Both roasts on roasting rack

Bottom round roast pulled at med rare, Money shot of bottom round sliced

Top Round at medium and my plate with bottom round sliced with sides

Marinade: I marinated in my Fajita Marinade (not from concentrate Pineapple, low sodium Soy Sauce, and my fajita seasoning of deydrated/minced onoin, granulated garlic, black pepper, ground cumin, chile powder). It marinated for about 15 hours though 24 hours would have been more ideal.

• Use for 3-4 pounds of meat
• 2 cups Pineapple Juice - ****NOT from concentrate***** (Dole brand in the can is always not from concentrate)
• 1 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• Season your meat well with:
• Black Pepper
• Garlic (granulated preferred)
• Onion (dehydrated/minced or granulated preferred)
• 1 Tbspn Chili Powder
• 1.5 tspn Ground Cumin
• Add seasoned meat and liquid into a bag and squeeze out as much air as possible
• Marinated 24 hours (12 hours will work but not as good)

Wood Used: Some left over Pit Boss Competition Blend (M/H/C) I had sitting outside from my last smoke and then about 60% of Lumberjack 100% Mesquite pellets. I doubled up the smoke by burning 2 rows in my AMNPS because I knew this would be a short smoke.

Cook/Smoke: Set the smoker for 225F. Smoked Bottom Round Roast to Med Rare of 133F, took about 2 hours. Smoked Top Round Roast to medium'ish and it took 2 hours 45 min, I bumped up smoker to 275F for last 20-30min to hit the temp. I had things to do so wanted to speed up smoke and pulled the Top Round at 140F.

Flavor: This was amazing! My Fajita marinade is top notch but what put this over the top was the Lumberjack 100% Mesquite pellet smoke! It made the Venison roasts taste very similar to Mesquite grilled meat which has a great reputation for the flavor it imparts with steaks, chicken, and fajitas. It was EXACTLY what I was shooting for with the flavor.
Additionally, I wanted these roasts to be cooked and feel more like a Prime Rib cook. This was definitely accomplished.

Not to old female venison Top Round can be very tender. The Bottom Round is less tender but more flavorful. The sirloin tip/chucks are still in the freezer and have a lot of silver skin internally so I'm not sure what I will do with those, maybe stew.
I still have 1 Top, 1 Bottom, 2 Sirloin Tip/Chucks, and 2 Backstraps from that Axis doe. I see them all getting a similar treatment :)

Here is the picture of my Axis doe (bottom pic)... they are spotted and have a black stripe down the back so don't confuse this with a spotted fawn/bambi :)

 

[Hawging It]

This is my first ever attempt at smoked a Top and Bottom Round Venison Roast from an Axis doe I shot this season. This was my first even Venison roast smoke and WOW it was amazing! Pics first and then a write up after. Gonna give the marinade a shot on a Whitetail deer backstrap. I smoke on a stick burner. We don't have mesquite in Mississippi. What about hickory or oak? Thanks

Top and Bottom Round Roast Marinating Both roasts on roasting rack

Bottom round roast pulled at med rare, Money shot of bottom round sliced
Top Round at medium and my plate with bottom round sliced with sides



Marinade: I marinated in my Fajita Marinade (not from concentrate Pineapple, low sodium Soy Sauce, and my fajita seasoning of deydrated/minced onoin, granulated garlic, black pepper, ground cumin, chile powder). It marinated for about 15 hours though 24 hours would have been more ideal.

• Use for 3-4 pounds of meat

• 2 cups Pineapple Juice - ****NOT from concentrate***** (Dole brand in the can is always not from concentrate)

• 1 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce

• Season your meat well with:

• Black Pepper
• Garlic (granulated preferred)
• Onion (dehydrated/minced or granulated preferred)
• 1 Tbspn Chili Powder
• 1.5 tspn Ground Cumin

• Add seasoned meat and liquid into a bag and squeeze out as much air as possible

• Marinated 24 hours (12 hours will work but not as good)

Wood Used: Some left over Pit Boss Competition Blend (M/H/C) I had sitting outside from my last smoke and then about 60% of Lumberjack 100% Mesquite pellets. I doubled up the smoke by burning 2 rows in my AMNPS because I knew this would be a short smoke.

Cook/Smoke: Set the smoker for 225F. Smoked Bottom Round Roast to Med Rare of 133F, took about 2 hours. Smoked Top Round Roast to medium'ish and it took 2 hours 45 min, I bumped up smoker to 275F for last 20-30min to hit the temp. I had things to do so wanted to speed up smoke and pulled the Top Round at 140F.

Flavor: This was amazing! My Fajita marinade is top notch but what put this over the top was the Lumberjack 100% Mesquite pellet smoke! It made the Venison roasts taste very similar to Mesquite grilled meat which has a great reputation for the flavor it imparts with steaks, chicken, and fajitas. It was EXACTLY what I was shooting for with the flavor.
Additionally, I wanted these roasts to be cooked and feel more like a Prime Rib cook. This was definitely accomplished.

Venison Top Round is very tendor. The Bottom Round is less tender but more flavorful. The sirlion tip/chucks are still in the freezer and have a lot of silver skin internally so I'm not sure what I will do with those, maybe stew.
I still have 1 Top, 1 Bottom, 2 Sirlion Tip/Chucks, and 2 Backstraps from that Axis doe. I see them all getting a simliar treatment :)

Here is the picture of my Axis doe (bottom pic)... they are spotted and have a black stripe down the back so don't confuse this with a spotted fawn/bambi :)

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Awesome Tall !!!
Could it be that those little Axis Deer are more tender like the Fawns they resemble, or is all that Pineapple Juice breaking it down. I never had any Axis Deer Meat.
The round roasts we get from our big Whitetails isn't very tender.
Definitely looks Mighty Tasty!!
Like.

Bear

 

[tallbm]

Hi there Hawging It ! I'm not sure your reply came through with any text so if you have any questions be sure to reach out :)

Looks Awesome Tall !!!
Could it be that those little Axis Deer are more tender like the Fawns they resemble, or is all that Pineapple Juice breaking it down. I never had any Axis Deer Meat.
The round roasts we get from our big Whitetails isn't very tender.
Definitely looks Mighty Tasty!!
Like.

Bear

Axis deer are generally larger than White Tail deer in TX.
I think she was about 110-115 pounds which is about 20 pounds heavier than most of the bigger White Tail does I run across in TX. Axis deer are native to India so they enjoy hotter weather.

In TX Axis deer meat is spoken of as arguably the best venison meat you can come across. I also hear people talking about Red Stag being very high but a professional venison harvester I know says of all the animals he has hunted for wild game restaurant and grocery harvesting outfits, that the Axis is the best. He says its because they have more natural fat running through the meat (marbling) and their fat taste much like beef rather than the "gamey" flavor of other venison species.

As for tenderness I think it was because she wasn't a very old doe at all, maybe 3 1/2 years old and pineaple juice does wonders to tenderize meat. So yeah a combo of the two.

When I do my venison fajitas I usually take a roast like the ones in this cook and slice them into about 3 steaks of about 1 inch thick or so and do the marinating. The pineapple REALLY gets in there and tenderizes it and gives amazing flavor!

Feel free to try the marinade sometime on a tougher piece of meat you have. I suggest you cut it into steaks BEFORE you marinade it and give it at least 24 hours so the pineapple can really do the trick. Don't be afraid to marinate it for multiple days, the meat won't fall apart :)

 

[Bearcarver]

Hi there Hawging It ! I'm not sure your reply came through with any text so if you have any questions be sure to reach out :)



Axis deer are generally larger than White Tail deer in TX.
I think she was about 110-115 pounds which is about 20 pounds heavier than most of the bigger White Tail does I run across in TX. Axis deer are native to India so they enjoy hotter weather.

In TX Axis deer meat is spoken of as arguably the best venison meat you can come across. I also hear people talking about Red Stag being very high but a professional venison harvester I know says of all the animals he has hunted for wild game restaurant and grocery harvesting outfits, that the Axis is the best. He says its because they have more natural fat running through the meat (marbling) and their fat taste much like beef rather than the "gamey" flavor of other venison species.

As for tenderness I think it was because she wasn't a very old doe at all, maybe 3 1/2 years old and pineaple juice does wonders to tenderize meat. So yeah a combo of the two.

When I do my venison fajitas I usually take a roast like the ones in this cook and slice them into about 3 steaks of about 1 inch thick or so and do the marinating. The pineapple REALLY gets in there and tenderizes it and gives amazing flavor!

Feel free to try the marinade sometime on a tougher piece of meat you have. I suggest you cut it into steaks BEFORE you marinade it and give it at least 24 hours so the pineapple can really do the trick. Don't be afraid to marinate it for multiple days, the meat won't fall apart :)

Thanks for the tip on the Pineapple---I heard it before, but never tried it, but you confirming it will make me try it.

You must mean Live Weight on those puppies. Our Whitetails only average about 110 "Dressed", and it only takes one to fill a Pickup Bed sideways. Can't get two of them across, Butt to butt. Very few of our deer survive the pressure for 3 1/2 years, and when they do the Buck have nice thick 8 or 10 point racks with 22" to 26" spreads. My point being that you're calling a 3 1/2 year old "Young" but here it is a pretty old deer. The last 3 1/2 year old my Son got was an 11 point, with his Bow, and it dressed out over 200 pounds.
Just the fat you talk about being more like Beef Fat, makes me wish we had some of those little things up here, but up here they're too busy trying to get an Elk herd started.

Thanks for the Reply, Tall,

Bear

 

[tallbm]

Thanks for the tip on the Pineapple---I heard it before, but never tried it, but you confirming it will make me try it.

You must mean Live Weight on those puppies. Our Whitetails only average about 110 "Dressed", and it only takes one to fill a Pickup Bed sideways. Can't get two of them across, Butt to butt. Very few of our deer survive the pressure for 3 1/2 years, and when they do the Buck have nice thick 8 or 10 point racks with 22" to 26" spreads. My point being that you're calling a 3 1/2 year old "Young" but here it is a pretty old deer. The last 3 1/2 year old my Son got was an 11 point, with his Bow, and it dressed out over 200 pounds.
Just the fat you talk about being more like Beef Fat, makes me wish we had some of those little things up here, but up here they're too busy trying to get an Elk herd started.

Thanks for the Reply, Tall,

Bear

Hahahaha it seems that things are very relative :)
Yeah the weight I talk about is live weight.

I would bet the fact that our deer don't have to put on so much mass in such short periods of time means they may be more tender for a longer while than maybe those big suckers you are dealing with.
We often try to take out the 4 1/2+ year old does but it is hard to tell when they are all roughly the same size. Sometimes coat color and quality is a good indicator of an older doe but not a fool proof approach when very healthy older does have good coat genetics... or use conditioner :P

We have all kinds of species here in TX on ranches. Something like 90% of all the hunting land in TX is privately owned so those owners can bring in exotics or anything else they want. Also we have a lot of land in TX so pressure is another relative thing here. This past year I hunted a property that was 30,000+ acres. Most of these deer were so dumb that we could shoot a doe and any others in the area wouldn't run more than 50 yards. Heck some didn't run at all and would resume grazing after a couple of minutes. They were not only very lightly pressured but seemed to have little experience and exposure to being hunted since they roamed 30k acres of rural land with very few people to encounter. It was very interesting this past year but filled the freezer hahahaha :)

 

[Bearcarver]

Hahahaha it seems that things are very relative :)
Yeah the weight I talk about is live weight.

I would bet the fact that our deer don't have to put on so much mass in such short periods of time means they may be more tender for a longer while than maybe those big suckers you are dealing with.
We often try to take out the 4 1/2+ year old does but it is hard to tell when they are all roughly the same size. Sometimes coat color and quality is a good indicator of an older doe but not a fool proof approach when very healthy older does have good coat genetics... or use conditioner :P

We have all kinds of species here in TX on ranches. Something like 90% of all the hunting land in TX is privately owned so those owners can bring in exotics or anything else they want. Also we have a lot of land in TX so pressure is another relative thing here. This past year I hunted a property that was 30,000+ acres. Most of these deer were so dumb that we could shoot a doe and any others in the area wouldn't run more than 50 yards. Heck some didn't run at all and would resume grazing after a couple of minutes. They were not only very lightly pressured but seemed to have little experience and exposure to being hunted since they roamed 30k acres of rural land with very few people to encounter. It was very interesting this past year but filled the freezer hahahaha :)

Yeah I found out about all that Private land down there when I was stationed at Ft Hood.
I spent my last 7 months in the Army at Ft Hood, so knowing how great a Deer Hunting State it was, I took my Deer Rifle along when we Drove down there. Then I bought a Deer license, and then I went hunting for a place to plan my hunting.
I should have looked around before I wasted my money on the license, because after a day of driving around & asking for permission to hunt at a bunch of ranches & farms, I gave up. The answers I got were "We have our own crew that hunts here" and "I have no say, I lease my land to a hunting group, and they have the say who hunts here" (This one was very popular).
So I gave up & chalked it up to experience. Up here in PA, we have Millions of Acres of State Game Lands & State Forest Land that is open to the public. All you have to do is drive there, pull over & park with all 4 wheels off the road, and walk in and hunt.

Oh---I forgot, the back end of Fort Hood was open for GIs, but you had to put your name in a hat, and be picked.
Then if you were one of the "Lucky" ones, you could occupy a Deer stand along the Tank Trails, and an MP would be driving around, checking to see if you are where you should be. But the thing that really turned me off, was you were allowed to use an Army M16, with Full Jacketed bullets. No Thanks, I just got back from Vietnam, NO THANKS !!!

Bear

 

[tallbm]

Yeah I found out about all that Private land down there when I was stationed at Ft Hood.
I spent my last 7 months in the Army at Ft Hood, so knowing how great a Deer Hunting State it was, I took my Deer Rifle along when we Drove down there. Then I bought a Deer license, and then I went hunting for a place to plan my hunting.
I should have looked around before I wasted my money on the license, because after a day of driving around & asking for permission to hunt at a bunch of ranches & farms, I gave up. The answers I got were "We have our own crew that hunts here" and "I have no say, I lease my land to a hunting group, and they have the say who hunts here" (This one was very popular).
So I gave up & chalked it up to experience. Up here in PA, we have Millions of Acres of State Game Lands & State Forest Land that is open to the public. All you have to do is drive there, pull over & park with all 4 wheels off the road, and walk in and hunt.

Oh---I forgot, the back end of Fort Hood was open for GIs, but you had to put your name in a hat, and be picked.
Then if you were one of the "Lucky" ones, you could occupy a Deer stand along the Tank Trails, and an MP would be driving around, checking to see if you are where you should be. But the thing that really turned me off, was you were allowed to use an Army M16, with Full Jacketed bullets. No Thanks, I just got back from Vietnam, NO THANKS !!!

Bear

Yeah the leasing thing is both good and bad. No just walking up and hunting. What is really funny is that people complain about feral hogs but then they won't let you hunt them on their land hahaha. I don't really blame them too much. Letting people you don't really know on your land with a firearm is probably not a good practice and in TX people don't really want you on their land anyhow.
When I was working in Minnesota I was shocked that people can be on and hunt anyone's land unless it is posted otherwise. You try that in TX and you may get shot

Currently game laws in TX now do not allow the use of FMJ to hunt game and Deer are game. No FMJ on a deer is a good thing. Back then it might have been different but I'm glad it's not that way since an FMJ will just punch right through. Feral hogs are considered pests so you can hunt them with FMJ in TX or rock or anything else :)

 

[indaswamp]

Yes indeed! I too package all the whole primal cuts from the back legs. So much you can do with them! Like!

 

[tallbm]

Yes indeed! I too package all the whole primal cuts from the back legs. So much you can do with them! Like!

Yep. When I keep roasts they are definitely from the back leg. I'll keep the top and bottom round roasts and grind the football shape roast. I don't keep too many roasts though, maybe 10 pounds out of 6-7 deer. I cherry pick the best ones in that case :)
I keep the Heel attached to my Shanks and I do amazing things with the shanks like braised dishes!!!