We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Culinary

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What Is Smoked Venison?

By C. Mitchell
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 6,337
Share

Smoked venison is deer meat that has been slow cooked over a flame or prepared in a professional smoking grill. Preparing meat with smoke adds tenderness and flavor and helps preserve even large cuts. Venison is a traditionally lean meat, which risks drying when placed for long periods in the smoker. As such, most smoked venison has been marinated before cooking to lock in moisture or smoked only at the end of its cooking cycle.

Smoking is one of the oldest ways of cooking meat, particularly wild-caught game such as venison. Hunters would traditionally bring their kills back to camp, then immediately cook the meat so as to preserve it for the trek home. Hot smoke from low flames slowly cooks the meat from the outside in.

The process typically happens in a dedicated smokery or other enclosed space. Modern meat smokers often resemble standard barbecues or grills, but are specially designed to capture and distribute smoke. Regular charcoal is all that is required, but aromatic wood chips — made of alder, hickory, or other natural woods — are quite common. The richer the smoke, the more flavor it will impart to the cooking meat.

Venison typically has a very low fat content. The meat is mostly lean and is heavily muscled. This makes for nutritious cuts and concentrated flavors, but can pose certain challenges where smoking is concerned.

More so than most other cooking techniques, smoking tends to dry meat. Cuts that are high in fat do the best in smokers, as fat deposits keeps steaks naturally moist from within. Smoked venison runs the risk of losing some of its natural tenderness if smoked too long or too hot.

Liberal use of flavorful marinades is one of the best tips for smoking venison. Soy, molasses, vegetable juice, and meat broth are popular options. Soaking steaks overnight or for a few hours before cooking helps them to retain their moisture for longer.

Other ways of preparing venison for smoking include rubbing the meat in salt, or starting the cooking in a more conventional way — on an open grill, for instance, or in the oven. So-called “combination cooking” imparts smoked venison with the flavor of smoke without the time required to induce dryness. The meat is usually cooked to a certain safe temperature indoors, then transferred to the smoker to finish things off.

Depending on the recipe, however, dried meat might actually be desirable. Smoked venison jerky, for instance, is little more than toughened strips of meat prized for its highly concentrated flavor and long shelf life. Smoking is one of the best ways to prepare jerky.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-smoked-venison.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.