Is tender venison just a dream or, the YouTube lies

kcult

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Is there just no way to make whole pieces of venison tender enough to eat? Very seldom have I cooked a piece that came out "fork tender" or "fall off bone." I do fairly well with the backstraps and tenderloins, but I tremble at the mere thought of a roast.

Well, I've had two shoulders and two hind quarters sitting on ice for the last week. I decide I'm going to attempt a shoulder roast. YouTube says it's one of the most neglected pieces and I'm missing out on some good eats. Okay. I watch about three or four different videos. The bullet points seem to be sear, braise (instead of stew), add veggies, 300° covered for about 3 hours and Bam!

So, I spend about an hour prepping, I sear it, add my liquid and veggies, cover and into the oven. Three hours later, I have some awesome smelling rubber.

Are the YouTubers full of it, or did I do something wrong?
 
One: you’re cooking it too long if it’s loin or back strap

Two: other cuts need to slow cook on low heat. 300degrees or less unless you’re cooking steaks.

Three: I use shoulders for dog food

Four: was this older buck meat? Young bucks or does eat best.
 
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One: you’re cooking it too long if it’s loin or back strap

Two: other cuts need to slow cook on low heat. 300degrees or less unless you’re cooking steaks.

Three: I use shoulders for dog food

Four: was this older buck meat? Young bucks or does eat best.

One: I do pretty good with loin or backstraps.

Two: This was on 300 for three hours.

Three: I hear most people say to grind the shoulders. YouTube says that's crazy.

Four: Maybe 3 to 4y/o buck.

Five: Thank you. That will teach me to listen to the internet.
 
Lowwwwww and slowwwwwww.

My buddy always does his in a Nesco over, like a Crock-Pot but an oven with the heat from the sides.

Makes everything tender. You could cook rocks in this thing and end up with butter.
 
For shoulders I grind into hamburger or make some type of processed meat like jerky or country ham. I had very good tenderloins Thursday morning. I soaked them in a brine with cajun seasoning for a day. I pan fried them with some eggs. Back straps I do the same way. Hams I cut into steaks and brine or hot smoke. Hams and shoulders make good country ham and you can pressure cooker both of them. Pressure cooking is a good way to go. Necks I cook as a roast or make country ham. I'm making a nice country ham now. Ribs can be cooked many ways but pressure cooked and made into soup is real good.
 
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Thanks for tips.

Since I considered the meat ruined (I would have still choked down every morsel), but the potatoes and carrots were still a tad on the firm side, I popped it back in the oven for another hour. Wow. What a difference an hour makes! I still would not call it fork tender, but I was able to pull it from the bone fairly easy and I could chew it without wondering if evolution failed me somehow.

Even my wife thought it was good. Whew!
 
Here is how I fix venison roast.
I have a small 1 quart crock pot cooker.

Sear and then put in the crock pot on top of small white onions.
Add potatoes, carrots, pepper and cover with water.
I also add a dark red wine, leave out if you wish, I think it adds to the flavor.
Cook on medium all day.
They come out like a beef roast, tender, fork cut tender.
 
I’m different. In my experience anytime venison soaks or boils it brings out the wild flavor that most people don’t like. I never soak venison in anything. I cook it three ways and they all taste great but are very simple with little depth of flavor.

1) I cook back straps on the grill, smoked beside charcoal. (Charcoal on one side, meat on the other). Always tender, always delicious. I sprinkle it heavy with garlic salt and pepper.

2) I cook the tender loins in the frying pan in bacon grease, no breading.

3) I cook whole hams in the oven in a roasting pan sprinkled heavy with garlic salt, pepper, and onion powder with one quartered onion on 300 for 3 hours.

I cook it the same way every time. I’m an awful cook so my stuff has to be simple but none of these ever taste like wild game and they’re all tender. I never cook old bucks or deer that we’re killed running.
 
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Thanks guys!

I'm also finding out that it's almost impossible to over-season. I believe I could have cooked this under a Trophy Rock and it would still need salt. Lol.
 
I think it is funny how so many people marinate, soak, season, add this and that, flavor, saturate and otherwise kill the flavor of a good piece of meat.
The crock pot and a venison roast are a thing conceived in heaven.
If you want to pull it with a fork and add some Sweet Baby Rays, well,

I'm hungry.
 
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I put a deer roast in an ob-round Pyrex bowl, add a jar of Cajun Injector Creole Butter, poke the meat full of holes with a fork, put the lid on and put in the refrigerator over night. Next day, place it in a cold oven set to 300-350 and bake for a couple of hours. Once it is done, I take the meat out, slice it about 1/4" thick, put it back in the marinade and back in the oven for a little longer.

I fix a roast for every holiday get together with my wife's family. A couple of them said they only come to get some of my deer roast.
 
Back strap and tenderloins= bacon wrap filet mignons
the rest, go slow, low and add something with fat to it- bacon, pork, butter... it don't come on its own1
 
I think it is funny how so many people marinate, soak, season, add this and that, flavor, saturate and otherwise kill the flavor of a good piece of meat.
The crock pot and a venison roast are a thing conceived in heaven.
If you want to pull it with a fork and add some Sweet Baby Rays, well,

I'm hungry.

Sweet Baby Rays. Our go to sauce.

I made some deer sushi one time (need to make it again) by laying down some bacon on wax paper and then spreading deer burger over the slices. I covered the meat with some shredded cheese, then rolled into a tube. I put the tube on the grill and began basting it with Sweet Baby Rays until done. I crushed up some maple bacon potato chips and rolled the tubes in the crushed chips. I sliced the rolls and served them with more sauce and pickled jalapenos.

I need to do that again soon!

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I think it is funny how so many people marinate, soak, season, add this and that, flavor, saturate and otherwise kill the flavor of a good piece of meat.
The crock pot and a venison roast are a thing conceived in heaven.
If you want to pull it with a fork and add some Sweet Baby Rays, well,

I'm hungry.
The buttermilk doesn't change the flavor nor does a brine. It helps tenderize the meat and keep it juicy when frying, baking, or smoking . In a Crock-Pot it doesn't matter as much cause you cook it to death and when it becomes mush you eat it. I like it as mush also but when it's fried, grilled, smoked a little brine goes a long way.
 
The buttermilk doesn't change the flavor nor does a brine. It helps tenderize the meat and keep it juicy when frying, baking, or smoking . In a Crock-Pot it doesn't matter as much cause you cook it to death and when it becomes mush you eat it. I like it as mush also but when it's fried, grilled, smoked a little brine goes a long way.
Sorry bro but it does not turn to mush.

And as far as eating it different ways, it is the only red meat we consume, so i have fixed it everyway imaginable.
I don't need added "stuff" to make it tender or to add "flavor".
Some people just don't like the flavor so they try and hide it.

I actually wish more people thought it was tough nasty stuff and the only way you could eat it was to cover it in 9 pounds of vegetables and spices.

:p
 
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Sorry bro but it does not turn to mush.

And as far as eating it different ways, it is the only red meat we consume, so i have fixed it everyway imaginable.
I don't need added "stuff" to make it tender or to add "flavor".
Some people just don't like the flavor so they try and hide it.

I actually wish more people thought it was tough nasty stuff and the only way you could eat it was to cover it in 9 pounds of vegetables and spices.

:p
I suggest trying a brine with some pork chops. They when you realize what your missing you'll go ahead and try it with venison tenderloins. The vegetables are seasoned by the meat.
 
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The best way I have found to cook a venison roast is in a slow cooker.

Slice some onions and carrots and line the bottom of the cooker. Sprinkle the roast with cajun seasoning and place in the cooker. Place a couple of strips of bacon draped over the roast (helps add some fat and keep it from drying out). Dump a bag of onion soup mix on top of the roast and then a can of cream of mushroom soup. Make sure to coat the roast with the soup as it helps contain the moisture.

Put the lid on and set the cooker to low and go to bed. When you get up in the morning, turn the cooker to warm and go to work. When you get home you can take a fork and pull it apart.
 
Is the brine anything more than just salt water?

Technically brine is just a heavy salt water mix but some people add other ingredients. It really doesn't change the flavor of the meat or make it salty, it just forces the meat to absorb fluid which makes it juicier and the salt helps tenderize.

I've used it with fish, pork, chicken and turkey but haven't tried it with venison.
 
Technically brine is just a heavy salt water mix but some people add other ingredients. It really doesn't change the flavor of the meat or make it salty, it just forces the meat to absorb fluid which makes it juicier and the salt helps tenderize.

I've used it with fish, pork, chicken and turkey but haven't tried it with venison.
That's exactly what I said it does. I love brined chops. Ill add seasoning to a piece of meat if I want a different flavor.
 
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sure. Cook it in a stew for 30 minutes, then pressure can it in jars for 75-90 mins. Next time you open the jar, that meat will be like little chunks of filet mignon cooked to perfection marinated in whatever broth you made
 
The best way I have found to cook a venison roast is in a slow cooker.

Slice some onions and carrots and line the bottom of the cooker. Sprinkle the roast with cajun seasoning and place in the cooker. Place a couple of strips of bacon draped over the roast (helps add some fat and keep it from drying out). Dump a bag of onion soup mix on top of the roast and then a can of cream of mushroom soup. Make sure to coat the roast with the soup as it helps contain the moisture.

Put the lid on and set the cooker to low and go to bed. When you get up in the morning, turn the cooker to warm and go to work. When you get home you can take a fork and pull it apart.

Sounds kinda like a Mississippi pot roast. veggies on bottom, then roast, sprinkled with powdered ranch and au jus, set a stick of butter on top and cover that with a few large mild peppers like Anaheims. Basically the same effect, a no-liquid-added braising that adds fat to seal and keep it juicy...
 
Sounds kinda like a Mississippi pot roast. veggies on bottom, then roast, sprinkled with powdered ranch and au jus, set a stick of butter on top and cover that with a few large mild peppers like Anaheims. Basically the same effect, a no-liquid-added braising that adds fat to seal and keep it juicy...

And now the next time I do it there will be a stick of butter on top Lol.
 
works great for carnitas too... use a spicier pepper and pretty much any cut of pig... throw it on warm corn tortillas with chopped onions and cilantro. Guaranteed to please...

Damn you, I had to go eat carnitas for lunch today. And of course I had to ask for fresh chopped jalepenos and the platter of hot sauce.

My butthole is going to pay for your words and my hubris.
 
Whole bone in shoulders- Oven bags with beef stock ,and onions, carrots, mushrooms, pepperochinis, garlic, dry french onion soup mux.... 275f till fall apart
 
Ive had it deep fried a few time over thanksgiving and New Years and its always the most tender ive had, from what i can tell they do it right after they deep fry a turkey if they so choose and then do the venison chunks. It’s incredible
 
So, I guess I've brined venison then.

I filled a pitcher with water, squeezed in 3 lemon's worth of juice, a large pinch of salt and let the meat soak in that for 3 days in the fridge.

Now, when I took it out and grilled that beast, it sure tasted good.
Sounds about right and delicious.
 
works great for carnitas too... use a spicier pepper and pretty much any cut of pig... throw it on warm corn tortillas with chopped onions and cilantro. Guaranteed to please...

Holy hell man. I put this in the slow cooker last night and I’m at currently stuffing my face. These are effing fantastic.

I added some fresh lime slices to squeeze on top.
 
Is the brine anything more than just salt water?
A good brine for pork is to dissolve salt in a pot of water until it tastes like seawater then add real maple syrup until you just begin to taste the sweetness. I soak 3" porkchops a day. For larger cuts soak longer. Rinse chops & brown in skillet on all sides. Finish off in a 300 degree oven to internal temp of 150-160.
 
I have marinated venison roasts in NY Speedie marinade, Italian Dressing would works as well, and cooked indirect at about 220 degrees on my Green Egg. Comes out great. For large cuts I'll marinate for 2-3 days. Small cuts overnight to 24 hours. Using an injector helps too.
 
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