- Published on
To make smoked venison bacon, you combine ground venison with ground pork and a bacon cure/seasoning, form it into loaves, cure it overnight, and then smoke it at a low temperature until it reaches a specific internal temperature.
Ingredients
- Venison: 2.5 lbs ground venison
- Pork: 2.5 lbs ground pork shoulder (a 50/50 blend with venison is common for good fat content)
- Cure & Seasoning: A commercial venison bacon seasoning and cure kit (like those from PS Seasoning or Hi Mountain Seasonings) following package directions, or a homemade mix:
- Water, bacon cure (Prague powder #1), and maple cure/flavoring
- Optional: Additional seasonings like smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, or a cinnamon swirl rub for extra flavor.
Equipment
- Meat grinder
- Large mixing bowl
- Aluminum loaf pans or wire racks
- Plastic wrap
- Smoker
- Meat thermometer (essential for monitoring internal temperature)
Instructions
- Prepare the Meat: Cut the venison and pork into grinder-sized pieces. Grind the meats together. For a finer, more uniform texture, grind the mixture a second time using a finer grinder plate. Keep the meat as cold as possible during the process.
- Mix & Cure: In a large bowl, combine the ground meat with the seasoning and cure mixture, adding a small amount of ice-cold water. Mix thoroughly with your hands until the seasoning is well incorporated and the meat becomes tacky.
- Form Loaves: Line aluminum loaf pans (or disposable baking tins) with plastic wrap and pack the meat mixture firmly into the pans, ensuring it's about 2 inches thick and there are no air pockets.
- Refrigerate: Cover the pans with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (at least 12-24 hours) to allow the cure to set and the loaf to firm up.
- Smoke:
- Preheat your smoker to a low temperature, starting around 130°F. Use apple, pecan, or other preferred wood chips for smoke flavor.
- Remove the meat loaves from the pans (they should slide out easily from the plastic wrap) and place them on wire racks in the smoker.
- Increase the smoker temperature gradually (e.g., by 10 degrees every hour) until it reaches 180°F.
- Continue smoking until the internal temperature of the bacon reaches 155°F. This may take several hours.
- Cool & Slice:
- Remove the bacon from the smoker and let it rest at room temperature for about an hour.
- Place the bacon in the refrigerator overnight to cool completely and firm up.
- The next day, slice the venison bacon thinly, preferably with a deli slicer.
- Cook & Store: The bacon is fully cooked and can be enjoyed as-is or fried in a skillet like traditional bacon. Vacuum seal and freeze the remaining slices for future use.
zing