Bacon wrapped venison rump roast

[jbauch357]

So far everything I've put in my SI #2 has come out phenomenal, going with something a bit more challenging today with a deer roast.  I like hunting, and enjoy venison when in small pieces as part of a recipe, but straight up steaks/roasts are pretty awful in my opinion.  My goal is to have a final product I can eat on its own.

I'm going to inject the roast with beef broth, then use some Rub With Love roast rub, and then wrap with bacon.  I'll go on the smoker at 225 until it hits IT of 170, then I'll put it in a roasting pan with more broth and cover with foil.  Temp will go up to 250 at that point until IT hits 200, then I'll remove from heat and let rest for ~30 min.  I'll pull, reincorporate pan juice as necessary, and top with BBQ sauce.

Sound like a good plan?

 

[Pork Belly]

Don't do it. Venison cooked beyond 130 MAX or 135 final temp is WAY overdone. Elk, deer, moose, bison, Antelope are all best RARE of a max of Medium Rare. Bear needs to be Medium well to be safe.

Don't torture that deer roast you already killed it once. Fatty marbled beef cooked to 200 IT will turn to crap, you especially cant do that to lean meat like deer.

 

[Pork Belly]

Look at the color on this venison back-strap. It was cooked to 135 IT and rested 10 minutes. Most folks consider it perfect, to my family it is a few minutes overdone. We would have taken a small cut like that to 130 and rested 15 minutes. http://www.realtree.com/timber-2-table/garlic-roasted-venison-backstrap-wrapped-in-bacon-skin

 

[NDKoze]

I agree with Brian. The worst thing to do with a deer roast is to over cook it. The texture is bad and it would be very dry.

I think I would smoke it for 2-3 hours at 150, and then finish it off in a crock pot with some Lipton Onion soup mix and some sliced onions on top, with a 1/2 cup of water on the bottom.

 

[Pork Belly]

Even in the crock pot he will cook all the pink out of it. Personally I haven't let the wife crock pot a chunk of dear in 23 years, she tried a few when we were first married. While she liked them I hated them, she grew up on well done beef. Now she much prefers me to cook the venison.

However It's your kill, your deer cook how you wish.

 

[BedouinBob]

I agree Brian. I always go for medium rare on game, whether deer, elk, or antelope. Otherwise it turn to Sahara dried shoe leather in a hurry!

 

[jbauch357]

So I ignored you guys and went for it, the result was fantastic.  The meat didn't pull quite as easy as I was hoping, but once cut off the bone and chopped up with the bacon it was perfectly tender.  Reincorporating the juices from the pan also brought back the moisture.  All up a great success.

 

[Pork Belly]

As long as your happy that's what is important. I though am a little sad for ya', because you will never know truly how good venison can taste.

 

[jbauch357]

Plenty more good cuts of meat in the freezer if we want proper venison, we've always struggled with the roasts hence this approach. 

 

[DivotMaker]

I think it looks great, Josh!  Roasts, of any kind, used to be a challenge for me, until I adopted the "super low and slow" approach, with a reverse-sear at the end!  Whether it's a high $ standing rib roast, or a budget sirloin tip roast, I find the results really good following this approach.  Here's a couple of examples that might help you in the quest for a tender, but rare to medium-rare roast:

Prime Rib

Sirloin Tip Roast (poor man's prime rib).

This technique cooks the meat evenly, from edge to edge, to the desired temp, and then finishes the outside with a grill or hot oven for a few minutes.

 

[jbauch357]

I have to admit that on day two with a sober pallet, I didn't find the leftovers appealing at all.  There was an unusual rancid flavor to the meat, which I hadn't experienced with deer before.

Talking to friends more about it, this was the first time ever that I'd not completely totally removed all the fat from deer - and that is probably what did this in.  I was hoping the benefits of the moisture would outweigh the impact of the gamey deer fat, and figured most of the fat would render and drip off anyway.  I was wrong.

So don't make my mistake, always always always remove the fat off deer regardless of how you're cooking it.

Luckily my brother in law still liked it, so he took all the leftovers home.

 

[Pork Belly]

On a fruit and grain raised Midwestern deer the fat flavor is more forgiving than one killed in in pine and ceder forests. I don't know where your deer came from so that may be part of the issue.

I venison is not conducive to a pulled pork type cooking and serving method, that is also part of the problem. I am including this link http://www.wideopenspaces.com/wild-game-recipe-caveman-inspired-roasted-leg-venison/ because it has a great picture of roasted leg of venison. However I do not care for the recipe. if I were going to roast a leg or large section of venison I would brine it first. I would then stud or "lard" the venison with chunks of bacon aprox 1/4 thick by 1 inch in length. Shove those bacon section into small slits cut by a knife thought the meat. A roasted clove of garlic shoved in with that bacon wouldn't hurt anything. Since your smoker will be sealed up and no basting happening use a water pan of some flavorful liquid near the fire box. use cull fat or chopped raw bacon  on top of the roast so it self bastes. If you have enough cull fat wrap the entire roast.  I would go low heat 100 to 130 for the first hour then crank the heat to 250 until you hit an IT of 130 in the largest section of meat. Tented with foil on a board to rest for 20 minutes should give you 135. the outer sections and edges will have come up to 140-145. Not overly done, just more done. Your guests can then select what degree of doneness they prefer. This will be excellent sliced hot but also served cold with wine and cheese or made into sandwiches.