Deer hams/shoulders on grill (1 Viewer)

[Boone]

One of my friends is graduating this weekend and he got a cabin for everyone to stay and celebrate. I told him that i had some deer shoulders and hams in the freezer and could do them up on the grill but dont know any good methods, rubs, recipes, etc.

They are all still on the bone and i would prefer just to leave them that way, anyone have any good ideas?

 

[Combat Chuck]

Those cuts have lots of connective tissue, right?

Low and slow, if that's the case.

 

[Boone]

Yeah they have some connective tissue but i went in and cut as much out as possible. So low and slow? Sounds good, anything i should do as far as a rub or marinade?

 

[Combat Chuck]

anything smoked is awesome, I'll bet pulled deer shoulder is killer.
Basic rubs are nice, when I smoke, I have a simple one that I make in bulk. I think producing this costs about ten bucks, and it keeps in the freezer for a while:

1LB crushed black pepper
6 Oz onion powder
4 oz garlic powder
4 oz cayenne
2 oz mustard powder
1 cup loose brown sugar

It's nice because it doesn't take over, it just adds some heat to the surface, the small amount of sugar helps a bark form, and doesn't lend alot of unnecessary flavors to the meat.

As for cooking goes, I would do 215 degrees until it reaches 200 degrees internal temperature, let it rest in a warm cooler for a few hours, and then pull.

HTH

 

[FLATU8ER]

What about following any other ideas for leg of lamb.
PS, I think I would de-bone it 1st.

 

[Boone]

Why de-bone? Not doubting just a newbie and dont know the ins and outs.

 

[spressomon]

Given venison is so lean you might want to think about brining it first or maybe injecting. And if you're going to smoke it you'll probably want a pan with some kind of liquid, water/wine/beer to keep the smoking chamber and hence the meat more moist.

I've taken shoulder chops from deer, big horn sheep and pronghorn...filleted into ~3/4"x3/4" (no larger than 1"x1") cubes and rubbed this marinade, usually 24-hour rest is good, and then skewered the pieces...and then a quick grill and its crazy good.

This is usually good for a pound or so of cut meat, double/triple/etc. as required:

Zest from 1 lemon
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary (I use italian parsley instead sometimes...or fresh marjoram...fresh basil works too...haven't tried fresh sage but sounds good too)
1 clove garlic
Kosher or course sea salt...about 1-2t or to taste
black pepper, course or whole, to taste

In a mortar and pestle grind the above ingredients into a smooth paste...food processor works here too.

Add enough olive oil to the paste to loosen it...probably 2-3T.

Rub all over the meat chunks and let rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Skewer on water soaked wood skewers and grill. These cook quickly and you want them medium rare or rare.

This is a fantastic dipping sauce I use for the above(!):

Tonatto (from Michael Chiarello)
1 200g can of good oil packed tuna, drained
2t capers
1T caper brine
1/4C olive oil
1/4C water
1-1/2t chopped italian parsley
1-1/2t lemon juice
Kosher/sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Process all the above ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

 

[Boone]

Tuna?

 

[Combat Chuck]

Tuna?

Yeah, tonatto is an old-school Italian sauce, kind of a seafood bearnaise.
I hate canned tuna, but I have a soft spot for tonatto on fresh bread.

It's tart and funky and slightly refreshing.

never thought about putting it on venison, though.

 

[Boone]

Huh, interesting probably wont try it over the weekend but looks like something to stash away in my recipes.

 

[spressomon]

Tonnato is a wonderful dipping sauce for grilled meats...especially game, lamb or veal (veal was the meat of choice for Michael's recipe for same). Before I learned about tonnato I thought the same thing...and so did all my hunting buddies(!!!).

I didn't tell them what it was...but when they were lapping the leftover sauce up with their bread they wanted to know just what it was. I think some of them to this day still can't believe there's tuna in it!

 

[Boone]

Well this may sound dumb but in your recipe when you mention 2t or 1t etc... does that mean teaspoon tablespoon?

 

[Combat Chuck]

lowercase "t" always represents a teaspoon, capitalized "T" always represents tablespoon.

 

[Boone]

See told you it would be dumb...

Thanks man

 

[spressomon]

That's the recipe as published...but I like about 2X the capers...YMMV.

 

[Combat Chuck]

See told you it would be dumb...

Thanks man

Not dumb at all, man, just not privy to the lazyness of professional chefs.
There's no harm in asking!

 

[Boone]

Haha, thanks y'all

 

[tcb]

Because of this thread, I kept a hind quarter off my doe from this weekend instead of sending it to the processor. I'll be giving it a smoke in a couple of weeks.

 

[Boone]

Awesome, there is definitely some good advice to be taken. Sounds like they've done it before... HAHA...

Cant wait till this weekend to give the shoulders a try... Nevermind the microbrew keg we're getting.

 

[Jon in NC]

I usually follow these steps;

Wash shoulder/ham
poke small slits all around the meaty portions
insert garlic cloves in slits
rub with evoo
cover with salt/pepper and brown suger well
wrap completely with bacon
wrap in aluminum foil
cook low and slow

easy yummy goodness