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Backstrap!

People would occasionally have a funny expression when my youngest was little and they would ask him what his favorite food was and he would say "deer butt". Now he's 11, and when he filled a plate with the backstrap in the pic above he picked up the cutting board and dumped all of the blood and juice on top of his steak.

I'm not sure what I did wrong with my 19 yr old that wants his steaks well done.
I've got an entire front shoulder I'm gonna slow smoke for street tacos. Chad Mendez (the UFC fighter turned big deal hunter) has a great recipe on youtube and I've done it a few times. Saving that one for a rainy day.
 
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I'm not sure what I did wrong with my 19 yr old that wants his steaks well done.
In my experience, some people just don't like seeing any shade of red/pink in meat. Big issue in introducing people to smoked meat. They see the pink smoke ring and run for the hills.

Others are just addicted to A1 and they've never been told it's an insult to the food and the cook to put sauce on steaks.

Lastly, there's the few people who think they'll not gain weight if they have to put more work into chewing the food first.
 
My parents and their friends ate all my damn backstraps. I thought 5 deer would last me all off season...they need to start eating the ground and leave me the good stuff! jerks!!! I store my steaks at their house for lack of room in my cardboard box of a home so i have to share but dagggg-on man haha. Looks good Terpfan. I like mine raw in the middle but that looks juicy!
 
In my experience, some people just don't like seeing any shade of red/pink in meat. Big issue in introducing people to smoked meat. They see the pink smoke ring and run for the hills.

Others are just addicted to A1 and they've never been told it's an insult to the food and the cook to put sauce on steaks.

Lastly, there's the few people who think they'll not gain weight if they have to put more work into chewing the food first.

My son says it's a texture issue for him. He admits it tastes better either medium or medium well but, he doesn't like the texture. I don't know, he's his mother's son. :rolleyes::)
 
My parents and their friends ate all my damn backstraps. I thought 5 deer would last me all off season...they need to start eating the ground and leave me the good stuff! jerks!!! I store my steaks at their house for lack of room in my cardboard box of a home so i have to share but dagggg-on man haha. Looks good Terpfan. I like mine raw in the middle but that looks juicy!

Well, next year you can store your deer at my house and I promise I will only eat 1/2 of your backstraps. ;)
 
No special recipe just Cabela's Mountain Man Bourbon Rub on 1/2, Sweet Rub of Mine on the other. Seared and then grilled at about 300 until it hit 140deg, then let rest for about 10 minutes. Delicious!
Which did you like better?
 
I've got an entire front shoulder I'm gonna slow smoke for street tacos. Chad Mendez (the UFC fighter turned big deal hunter) has a great recipe on youtube and I've done it a few times. Saving that one for a rainy day.

Just looked up that recipe. I have one front shoulder left. I might have to give it a try.
 
Which did you like better?

It depends on my mood. The Sweet Rub O'mine is a slightly sweet BBQ flavor and in the Cabela's rub you can really taste the bourbon and chili pepper. My son loves the Sweet rub of mine so he ate most of that, I ate mostly the Cabela's rub but, they are both good.
 
I've got an entire front shoulder I'm gonna slow smoke for street tacos. Chad Mendez (the UFC fighter turned big deal hunter) has a great recipe on youtube and I've done it a few times. Saving that one for a rainy day.

This is interesting. We always spend forever cleaning up the shoulders for sausage and ground. I like the idea of a whole shoulder preparation. I've never smoked venison like that.

Chad's recipe is in essence a barbacoa, so there are some nice jumping off points for the braise. Dash in some fish sauce or maybe Worcestershire for an even meatier flavor.
 
This is interesting. We always spend forever cleaning up the shoulders for sausage and ground. I like the idea of a whole shoulder preparation. I've never smoked venison like that.

Chad's recipe is in essence a barbacoa, so there are some nice jumping off points for the braise. Dash in some fish sauce or maybe Worcestershire for an even meatier flavor.
Yeah I can't recall the exact recipe off the top of my head but the beer for the braise really sold me on it. And it couldn't be lower impact in terms of babying it.

I usually slow cook shanks for stews and the consistency of the meat is similar but I benefit in a few ways 1) buying more beer and 2) the smoky flavor the meat takes on. I also make my own tortillas, so while the meat smokes I'll press and cook up my tortillas and drink beer all day. There's no way to lose.
 
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My son says it's a texture issue for him. He admits it tastes better either medium or medium well but, he doesn't like the texture. I don't know, he's his mother's son. :rolleyes::)
Seems like there is getting to be more people with texture issues with food. Strange that it happens with meat but then again, sometimes deer tenderloin can get me sometimes just because the muscle structure is just weird sometimes.
 
This is interesting. We always spend forever cleaning up the shoulders for sausage and ground. I like the idea of a whole shoulder preparation. I've never smoked venison like that.

Chad's recipe is in essence a barbacoa, so there are some nice jumping off points for the braise. Dash in some fish sauce or maybe Worcestershire for an even meatier flavor.

I used to spend forever cleaning shoulders and shanks but, the last couple years I have kept all front shoulders and shanks whole and have been braising them in a slow cooker. I will probably start that recipe on the smoker but finish it with indirect heat on the grill.

I usually slow cook shanks for stews and the consistency of the meat is similar but I benefit in a few ways 1) buying more beer

Haha, when he dumped the beer on my first thought was there's a good reason to have 5 IPA's left over to drink. :)
 
I used to spend forever cleaning shoulders and shanks but, the last couple years I have kept all front shoulders and shanks whole and have been braising them in a slow cooker. I will probably start that recipe on the smoker but finish it with indirect heat on the grill.



Haha, when he dumped the beer on my first thought was there's a good reason to have 5 IPA's left over to drink. :)
On a normal year I have approximately 10 shoulders. I'll typically save ALL the shanks for stews or project like this but I'll keep 2-4 shank/shoulders whole for this sort of thing. Way lower impact in terms of my butchering time and this recipe is always a hit with friends/family. You could also just reproduce it with 2-3 shanks and then not have to clean those!

As for following the actual recipe, I'm a dirty cheater and just do it all on my pellet grill. While drinking 11 IPAs.
 
Yeah I can't recall the exact recipe off the top of my head but the beer for the braise really sold me on it. And it couldn't be lower impact in terms of babying it.

I usually slow cook shanks for stews and the consistency of the meat is similar but I benefit in a few ways 1) buying more beer and 2) the smoky flavor the meat takes on. I also make my own tortillas, so while the meat smokes I'll press and cook up my tortillas and drink beer all day. There's no way to lose.

Home made tortillas, yes!

I definitely agree with the smoke, original barbacoa would have that, while modern barbacoa introduces more flavor into the braze. So it's win-win.

Makes sense to do a whole shoulder too. After 11 IPAs, you'll want leftovers so you can find out how good the tacos actually taste, lol. I'm gonna have to plan one of these cookouts soon.
 
Home made tortillas, yes!

I definitely agree with the smoke, original barbacoa would have that, while modern barbacoa introduces more flavor into the braze. So it's win-win.

Makes sense to do a whole shoulder too. After 11 IPAs, you'll want leftovers so you can find out how good the tacos actually taste, lol. I'm gonna have to plan one of these cookouts soon.
Yeah the first time I eat them I usually don't remember and I'm just hungry.

This is a huge thread hijack and I'm sorry but for like $8 you can get a press and run some parchment paper in between and then buy Kasavva flour, 2 cups of water, 2 cups of flour, 1/3 cup of oil, a glug of minced garlic (science term) and some salt and those tortillas are the best you'll have. Do this early into your 11 IPAs though. Then cook them in a dry skillet (I use my cast iron) on medium heat and you're in business. And if they suck, you won't care cause you're 3 sheets to the wind. But they don't suck.
 
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Yeah the first time I eat them I usually don't remember and I'm just hungry.

This is a huge thread hijack and I'm sorry but for like $8 you can get a press and run some parchment paper in between and then buy Kasavva flour, 2 cups of water, 2 cups of flower, 1/3 cup of oil, a glug of minced garlic (science term) and some salt and those tortillas are the best you'll have. Do this early into your 11 IPAs though. Then cook them in a dry skillet (I use my cast iron) on medium heat and you're in business. And if they suck, you won't care cause you're 3 sheets to the wind. But they don't suck.

Just mix it all together?
 
Yeah the first time I eat them I usually don't remember and I'm just hungry.

This is a huge thread hijack and I'm sorry but for like $8 you can get a press and run some parchment paper in between and then buy Kasavva flour, 2 cups of water, 2 cups of flower, 1/3 cup of oil, a glug of minced garlic (science term) and some salt and those tortillas are the best you'll have. Do this early into your 11 IPAs though. Then cook them in a dry skillet (I use my cast iron) on medium heat and you're in business. And if they suck, you won't care cause you're 3 sheets to the wind. But they don't suck.

So, I really wanted to try this, but...I don't have a press and my local didn't have Kasavva.

Without recourse, I picked up the IPA's and I'm getting to the point where stale toast could pass for those delicate genuine abuela crafted tortillas.

Really though, I'm marking the post and will give this a try....and, really, I got the beer. Muchas gracias.
 
Just mix it all together?

Grill the shoulder two hours. Then put it in an aluminum pan with beer. Run it another 2 hours at 225. Is that what you meant?

Or do you mean the tortillas? Because if so, yes. Mix it up and make egg sized balls to press.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Grill the shoulder two hours. Then put it in an aluminum pan with beer. Run it another 2 hours at 225. Is that what you meant?

Or do you mean the tortillas? Because if so, yes. Mix it up and make egg sized balls to press.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was after the tortillas. Thanks!

Do you whole shoulder guys get the lymph nodes out or leave them for flavor? Lol

Seriously though…
 
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