If you’re emptying your freezer in preparation for the whitetail season to come, a few great preparation methods are all it takes to supply the meat for any of the thousands of recipes available online.
Any deer properly put away last year can be quite readily used. Applications for ground meat in everything from tacos to lasagna work well. Though usually the first to go, any backstraps or inner loins still frozen make for prime time meals.
On any whole muscle cut, the first step of preparation after thawing is to make sure all the silver skin membrane has been removed. It’s not uncommon for this to be left on by whoever processed the deer for the freezer, but it must be dealt with before cooking.
If you’re new to deer or any other big game preparation, look at the muscle you’ve thawed. If there’s a sheen on the outside, usually with a white or shimmery-silver tinge, this is a thin but very tough membrane that must be removed. A filet knife is ideal for this step.
Take your time and get it all. The membrane has no flavor, but it’s like chewing vulcanized rubber. Don’t let this scare you off from cooking it though. A good sharp knife and some patience is all you need. When it’s off, the remaining exterior of the meat will have a rough, dull appearance. This is correct, and now you’re ready to proceed.
With the membrane gone, the one caveat to keep in mind for any whole muscle preparation is there’s no internal fat marbling as there would be with beef or other domestic meat. If your eaters don’t like medium rare or rare, if it needs to be cooked beyond that for everyone’s preference, you’ll need either a thin-sliced frying method or a slow cooking crockpot-style preparation. This is where this preparation of the deer roast really shines. This method cooks the deer essentially the way you would pulled pork. Just bear in mind you must account for keeping everything moist, so you can’t smoke them the way you do a Boston butt. Marinade alone won’t do. You can start it on the heat uncovered to get a sear on the outside if you like, but you’ll have to do the bulk of the cooking with it sealed in its juices.
Scott Leysath, a wild game cooking personality with a strong presence on YouTube and Outdoor Channel, specializes in creating five-star presentations of wild game and encouraging hunters to make the final step of the field-to-table process the most satisfying.
Backstraps and inner loins taken from deer can be prepared almost any way one might choose, but getting the best from the other cuts, specifically front shoulder and neck roasts, can take a little more thought.
Leysath shared the key ingredients for his favorite solution, one that offers fall-off-the-bone tender results.
“This is not an exact method, and do keep in mind, if the meat doesn’t fall off the bone, keep cooking and make sure you’re keeping it moist during the last phase of the process,” Leysath said. “You can do this in the oven, on a smoker or even on the grill.”
Those attempting the latter two methods should remember to consider the temperatures on the outside of their cooking equipment as well as the inside. Grills and smokers are affected by colder weather, making it more difficult to maintain a consistent level of heat inside.
In the oven
Leysath said neck and shoulder roasts may be prepared without being deboned, a step that will certainly reduce the hassle and should add to flavor as well.
“Rub the meat generously with olive oil, salt and pepper, or with your favorite barbecue rub,” he continued. “If possible, at this point, wrap it and refrigerate it overnight. If you don’t have time for that, though, it’s not an indispensable step.”
Place the meat in a lightly- greased baking pan with celery, carrots and onions, and put it uncovered into an oven preheated to 350 or 375 degrees. At this temperature, you’ll be making good progress with the cooking with only the minimum risk of getting things over-done.
“Turn the meat occasionally until it’s evenly browned, then add some liquid to the pan. You can use beer, wine, chicken broth or beef broth. The idea is to keep about an inch of liquid surrounding the meat.
“Cover the pan tightly with a lid or foil and lower the oven’s temperature by 25 degrees. After a couple hours, check the pan and add more liquid if necessary, keeping the level between a half-inch and an inch. Check it again in two more hours, then check every hour until the meat starts to pull easily off the bone. It’s not done until it falls off the bone easily.”
By keeping the pan tightly-lidded and maintaining a consistent level of liquid inside, you’ll effectively be steaming the meat as much as anything, and it should cook without drying out. Try hard to keep the liquid at the level described. You may be adding liquid occasionally as you go and, every time you do, you’ll be knocking the liquid’s temperature down from a boil, which means you’ll be baking rather than steaming the meat until the liquid comes back up to temperature.
In the smoker
“Place the meat uncovered in a 200 degree smoker for six to eight hours,” he said, “then cover the meat in your favorite barbecue sauce, wrap it in two layers of heavy duty foil and place it back in the smoker for another four hours, or until the meat falls off the bone.”
On the grill
“Place the meat in a medium hot grill, one right around 300 degrees, and put it as far away from the heat source as you can,” he said. “Grill the meat until its internal temperature reaches 155 to 160 degrees, then cover it with barbecue sauce, wrap it in heavy duty foil, reduce the grill’s heat and cook for another two to three hours, or until the meat falls easily off the bone.”
Because of the length of time required for the process, Leysath makes these cookings a mass production event.
“I generally do several shoulders at the same time, pull all the meat off the bones, then vacuum seal the meat in batches to be used as needed.” he said.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
