CDN
Guest
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my friends on NCHuntFish! I hope you all have had a great holiday season, and wishing you the best of times in 2015. Here is possibly the best thing I have ever made with venison!
We had an awesome fall this year, many memorable hunts and much success! My daughter and I both had a great season, she taking her first buck and I got this buck in December as an early Christmas present!
I am always looking for new recipes and creations for our field success, and making venison bacon has been on my radar for quite a while. I did a little research, and wound up ordering the seasoning package from www.curleyssausagekitchen.com. The price was reasonable, the service was fast, I would definitely order from them again. The seasoning package made the process easy and the final product was incredible!
What you'll need:
50% ground venison 50% ground pork
Curley's Sausage Company Venison Bacon Seasoning Package
Apple, hickory or pecan wood
Spray olive oil
2 inch tall aluminum pans
Smoking screen
Start out by combining ground venison with ground pork. We used 10 pounds of ground venison, and combined it with a 12 pound pork butt, which we deboned, cut into chunks, and ground with the medium plate. We then combined the ground pork and the ground venison and ground it again using the fine plate.
Add the seasoning package and cold water to the meat, according to the included instructions that comes with the seasoning. Mix it very, very well until you have achieved an almost glue-like consistency. Spray the pans with olive oil to keep it from sticking, then put the mixture into the pans. Shape the mixture in the pans to fill up the entire pan, and level off at the top so that it is nice and flat. This is important, as this will dictate the shape, size and consistency of your finished bacon slices. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight to allow it to set up.
Prepare your smoker to cook the bacon. I have heard of different methods and time frames, but I smoked mine with apple at 150 degrees up to 180 degrees for 5 hours, until it reached an internal temperature of 155 degrees. I used a metal mesh that I purchased at a local home improvement store. I sprayed the mesh heavily with olive oil prior to placing the meat loaves onto it. When placing them on the smoker, just turn them upside down and they will slide easily out of the pans. I used my big heavy duty offset cooker to smoke them, as it was the easiest to keep and maintain the low cooking temps. If you are using a Weber or barrel type cooker, I would use much less charcoal than you even think that you need to keep the temps low. It is imperative to keep the temps low in order to get the desired finished bacon. You can always cook it a little longer if your temps hover too low, but you can't take away cooking if it gets too hot and overcooks.
Once it comes off the smoker, cover it and place it in the refrigerator overnight. Slice it the next day and freeze in packs for later or enjoy right now! This 25 pound recipe will make quite a bit!
We had an awesome fall this year, many memorable hunts and much success! My daughter and I both had a great season, she taking her first buck and I got this buck in December as an early Christmas present!
I am always looking for new recipes and creations for our field success, and making venison bacon has been on my radar for quite a while. I did a little research, and wound up ordering the seasoning package from www.curleyssausagekitchen.com. The price was reasonable, the service was fast, I would definitely order from them again. The seasoning package made the process easy and the final product was incredible!
What you'll need:
50% ground venison 50% ground pork
Curley's Sausage Company Venison Bacon Seasoning Package
Apple, hickory or pecan wood
Spray olive oil
2 inch tall aluminum pans
Smoking screen
Start out by combining ground venison with ground pork. We used 10 pounds of ground venison, and combined it with a 12 pound pork butt, which we deboned, cut into chunks, and ground with the medium plate. We then combined the ground pork and the ground venison and ground it again using the fine plate.
Add the seasoning package and cold water to the meat, according to the included instructions that comes with the seasoning. Mix it very, very well until you have achieved an almost glue-like consistency. Spray the pans with olive oil to keep it from sticking, then put the mixture into the pans. Shape the mixture in the pans to fill up the entire pan, and level off at the top so that it is nice and flat. This is important, as this will dictate the shape, size and consistency of your finished bacon slices. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight to allow it to set up.
Prepare your smoker to cook the bacon. I have heard of different methods and time frames, but I smoked mine with apple at 150 degrees up to 180 degrees for 5 hours, until it reached an internal temperature of 155 degrees. I used a metal mesh that I purchased at a local home improvement store. I sprayed the mesh heavily with olive oil prior to placing the meat loaves onto it. When placing them on the smoker, just turn them upside down and they will slide easily out of the pans. I used my big heavy duty offset cooker to smoke them, as it was the easiest to keep and maintain the low cooking temps. If you are using a Weber or barrel type cooker, I would use much less charcoal than you even think that you need to keep the temps low. It is imperative to keep the temps low in order to get the desired finished bacon. You can always cook it a little longer if your temps hover too low, but you can't take away cooking if it gets too hot and overcooks.
Once it comes off the smoker, cover it and place it in the refrigerator overnight. Slice it the next day and freeze in packs for later or enjoy right now! This 25 pound recipe will make quite a bit!
