# Venison Shoulders...recipes, please



## Roadking

My dad gave me two vension shoulders, fresh killed, vac sealed. What do I do with them? As a roast, like ribs,...I'm clueless as how to do it. As is he.
Bone in, 3 and 4.3 pounds. lots of meat I'd love to put on the grill...but, no knowledge in this area of venison.
Any advice appreciated.

Matt

P.S. The sausage, steaks and hot dogs are easy compared to this one.


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## Darstcreek

chili is the way to go !


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## Paquebot

We always ground just about everything from the front half of an average deer. Pieces just aren't big enough to do much with as versus a big beef. Stew chunks also were an option for anything an inch or so thick. 

Martin


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## big rockpile

The Shoulder tends to be tougher but you might consider Baking just don't over cook.

big rockpile


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## Riverdale

Brine it with a mix of salt apple juice and water 24 hours minimum.

Poke it with a fork to get the brine into it.

Pull it out of the brine, and smoke it low and slow (200 for 12-14 hours).

I also cut slits and put bacon (fatty bacon works the best) in the slits.
And garlic.

Smoke over a mix of apple, cherry and maple/pecan wood.

I'll bring the 'tater salad


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## alleyyooper

Deer, use their shoulders to move about, and this makes the shoulder meat less tender than other cuts. The more the deer uses a muscle, the more connective tissue it contains. But these cuts are usually tastier, as well. To break down the connective tissue so the cut will become tender, the trick is to cook shoulder roasts for a longer time at lower temperatures, with liquid. Don't actually "roast" the roast.

(1. Prepare your shoulder roast for cooking by seasoning it to your taste.

(2. Heat vegetable oil in a stock pot. Chef John Besh recommends using bacon drippings instead. Heat the oil or drippings on high heat. When "ribbons" begin to form in the oil, or the drippings begin spitting, brown your shoulder roast on all sides and set aside.

(3. Add vegetables to the hot oil, if you prefer. Besh recommends carrots, celery and onion. If you use vegetables, cook them in the drippings or oil until they start to brown, then add a quarter cup of flour to begin forming a roux. You can add the flour directly to the fat or oil if you don't want to use vegetables. If you like, add to the roux any extra ingredients you would like to use to flavor your roast, such as garlic, diced tomatoes and mushrooms.

(4. Warm your roux mixture at high heat, then add in more moisture, such as wine, broth or apple juice. Bring the mixture to a second boil and add seasonings of your choice.

(5. Return your shoulder roast to the liquid mixture, and seal the pot tightly with a well-fitting lid. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer your shoulder roast for two hours for a 1-pound roast. When your roast is finished, it should easily pull away from the bone with a fork.

(6. Remove the roast from the pot for carving. If you won't be serving it immediately, pull the meat from the bone and return it to the pot with the liquid so it doesn't begin drying out.

You can also grill a shoulder roast, making adjustments for its high content of connective tissue. Use indirect heat and a grill temperature of no more than 250 degrees Fahrenheit, and baste it frequently. No matter how you cook your shoulder, using low temperatures over an extended period of time breaks down the connective tissue. A roast that would otherwise be tough becomes tender, maintaining all the flavor that more tender cuts tend to lack.

Read more: How To Cook A Venison Shoulder Roast | LIVESTRONG.COM

 Al


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## alleyyooper

John Besh's Recipe for Roasted Venison Shoulder.

Serves 6 

Venison:
1 shoulder of venison
1&#8260;4 cup bacon drippings
2 onions, diced small
1 carrot, peeled and diced small
1 celery stalk, diced small
1&#8260;4 cup all- purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
2 apples, any type, cored and diced
2 oz. dried porcini or chanterelle mushrooms
2 cups beef broth
1 cup apple juice
1 cup red wine
1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 sprig rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 dash sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Turnips:

1 lb. turnips, peeled and diced
1&#8260;2 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced
1&#8260;2 lb. unsalted butter, diced
Salt, to taste

Directions 

Venison:
1. Season venison shoulder with salt and pepper. Over high heat, add bacon drippings to pot, then brown venison on both sides.

2. Remove venison, then add onion, carrot, and celery. Reduce heat to medium and stir while cooking, until vegetables have become mahogany in color. Then stir in flour. When flour has been well incorporated, add garlic, tomato, apple, and dried mushroom.

3. Let mixture come to a boil before slowly stirring in beef broth, apple juice, and red wine. Raise heat to high and bring it to a boil again. Add thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, sugar, and venison shoulder.

4. Reduce heat to a low simmer, and cover pot. Cook for 2 hours, or until meat begins to pull from the bone with a fork. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed.

5. Remove from heat. Take out venison shoulder and carefully pull meat from the bone. Return meat to the cooking liquid until ready to serve.

Turnips:
1. Place turnips and potatoes in a pot and fill with enough water to cover vegetables. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, or until turnips become soft.

2. Drain vegetables and transfer to food-processor bowl. Add butter, and purÃ©e mixture. Season to taste with salt.

Serving Tip: Place a large spoonful of turnip purÃ©e on a plate. On top, serve a generous spoonful or two of the venison shoulder with sauce.


 Al


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## alleyyooper

Shoulder of venison (bone in or out), 4.5 - 11 lbs, 4 cloves of garlic, each clove sliced into about 3 large chunks 3-4 onions 1 1/2 Tbs dried cherries or cranberries 1 wine glass of wine olive oil 1. Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees. 2. Pour the red wine over the dried fruit, and allow to soak for at least an hour. 3. Prepare the venison by cutting into the meat and inserting the slices of garlic in it. 4. Rub a fair amount of olive oil all over the skin and meat. 5. Skin the onions, and cut into quarters. 6. Place the venison in a roasting pan with the onions at the bottom, add 1 cup of the wine and cover with foil tightly. Roast for about 3 hours. 7. When meat is done, set it aside to rest for around 30 minutes, leave tightly covered. 8. Pour out juices from the pan into a small pot, and add the red wine and soaking fruit, a bit of flour, and salt and pepper to taste. 9. Stir the gravy until it's nicely thickened. Remove the dried fruit, roughly chop, and serve on the side. FOR WELL-DONE VENISON. Suitable cuts: haunch, shoulder. Joints with the bone in are particularly good cooked this way. If you don't like your meat pink, then it is best to cook it slowly, and you need to take steps to prevent it from drying out. You do get wonderful gravy this way, and it doesn't need such careful timing as the fast method. You should run the meat all over with Olive Oil, brown it, then cook in a covered dish with some liquid (water, wine, orange juice or ale) and vegetables if wished. The flavour of the liquid will alter the rich gravy, and Olive Oil can be skimmed off afterwards. Brown the meat, add preferred liquid, cover, and cook slowly for 2-4 hours. Use oven temperatures similar to cooking a stew (300F). Baste from time to time.

1 shoulder Venison (bone in) 
1 bunch thyme 
8 whole medium sized onions, peeled (mild - sweet) 
2 garlic bulbs, peeled cloves 
1 cup balsamic vinegar 
1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
1/3 cup olive oil 
Method: How to make Slow-roast Venison Shoulder Bone-In with thyme and balsamic onions

1. Set the oven to 350F. You can marinate the Venison Leg for a day in the olive oil, with 6-8 sprigs of thyme and some extra thinly sliced garlic.

2. Before you cook the Venison take it out of the fridge for a good hour if not two so the meat is at room temperature. 

3. If you have marinated the Shoulder, remove the thyme and garlic then season with all of the salt and some fresh black pepper. If not, rub in the olive oil and then season with salt and pepper.

4. Place a little olive oil into the bottom of a large casserole pot with lid (big enough to fit the Leg), which is at room temperature. Add the onions, drizzle in a little olive oil and a little seasoning as well, place the Venison on top of the onions. Place the casserole into the oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes, until the Venison and onions have coloured.

5. Once the onions have coloured, turn the oven down to 230F. Add the thyme and garlic and cook this for 90 minutes - with a lid on. During this time, stir the onions every 20-30 minutes. After this time, the onions and garlic should be soft, remove them from the pot and place on to a tray. Place the lid back on to the pot and continue to cook for a further 2 hours with the lid on, checking every so often. 

6. Remove the pot from the oven, remove the lid and add 1 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. Turn the oven up to 300F and cook for a further hour, basting the Venison every 15 minutes. 

7. The Venison by now should be nice and tender, remove the Venison Shoulder from the pot and place on to a tray. Add the onions back into the pot and place them on to a medium heat and reduce until sticky. 

8. The Venison should just fall off the bone so I generally use a spoon as opposed to a knife. If you need a knife, then the lamb is not cooked enough. Serve with mashed potato.


This should get you started.


 Al


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## Cabin Fever

I would thaw it out, filet it off the bone, then slow cook it in liquid for several hours until it becomes fork tender and falls apart.

Then, I'd shred the meat using two forks (like pulled pork or pulled beef). 

Lastly, I'd mix the meat with my favorite BBQ sauce (and reheat) for sandwiches or mix it with a stroganoff sauce, reheat it, and then pour over noodles.


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## tinknal

I'm with the stew-chile-BBQ crowd. Not a great cut for a roast.


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## RonM

I always made a pot-roast, cook in oven on 350 for about 3 hrs , then throw in carrots, potatoes, and onions for about an hour....cook covered in roasting pan....


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## ||Downhome||

pressure cookers work great for tuff meat.

I always de-bone my venison.
The lower legs get cooked till tender and then the tendon striped and used in various recipes. anything large enough becomes a roast, steak, bits become burger or stew meat. If I have time i will some times take the tendon out of those leg muscles and use it for jerky.
Never really had any tuff venison to be honest... 
Is there really such a thing?


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## Roadking

Lots of great recipes...Thanks all!

Matt


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