Elk or Venison Pastrami

Since we are all hunkering in place I thought I would share my current project and a recipe for it.

Elk pastrami. (Or venison pastrami… I prefer elk but deer works great too.)

Many game cooks are familiar with venison sausage. But few explore other types of charcuterie, a branch of cooking that produces a wide variety of delicious foods. Charcuterie (shar-KU-tuh-ree) was originally devised to preserve meat before refrigeration was invented. Today these meats—including ham, pâté, bacon, and confit—are prepared mainly for their taste. One of my favorites is elk pastrami.

Because elk or venison lacks marbleized fat, use a lean cut such as a sirloin or other roast from the hindquarter. Neck meat, shanks, or shoulder roasts don’t make good pastrami.

You can either corn (brine) the meat or use a dry rub, which is quicker and to me better.

The recipe below uses 5 pounds of meat… adjust dry rub accordingly if you have more or less.

For a dry rub, I go with this….

4 tablespoons Tender Quick (or Instacure #1, aka pink curing salt.)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground paprika
1 teaspoon ground bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine the dry rub ingredients, rub it into the meat, shake off any excess rub.

Cover meat and put it in the refrigerator for 7 days.

After 7 days, take the meat out and put it in cold water to soak for 2-3 hours.

Then we are off to the smoker.

Before smoking, I rub the meat with a mixture of allspice, garlic, crushed bay leaves, crushed juniper berries, white pepper and mustard seeds....

Then smoke it according to whatever smoker you have… I use apple-smoked hickory chips for pastrami.

When done, put it in tinfoil with a little broth, seal it up and put it back in the heat for about an hour to steam.

It makes the pastrami tender.

For those who think that venison has a "gamey" taste, you will not be able to tell that this is venison.

Pastrami doesn't freeze well but will last a few weeks in the refrigerator, I have been told...

Personally this pastrami has never made it that long in my refrigerator before it is all eaten up.

My preference is eating it with Swiss cheese and horseradish mustard on sour dough, grilled.

So if you are bored with game in the freezer and time on your hands, try it out!

Mmmm mouth watering

NC

originally posted by: NoConspiracy
Mmmm mouth watering

NC

I was thinking of making another thread about using a smoker.

I smoke a lot of my chips... like apple-smoked maple chips, or pear-smoked hickory.

There are also a lot of things you can smoke that nobody ever thinks of.

You have not lived until you've eaten mac and cheese with maple-smoked noodles, for instance...

a reply to: Lumenari

I have been cooking on an open fire for the last 3 years and I'm tired of the smoked flavor in all my food.
fun fact: reheating in a cold pan will make it unbearably smoky, heat the pan first and put the cold food in it and you will get half of the smoky flavor.

Still I had my fair share of smoked food...

a reply to: Lumenari

Thanks for the recipe Lumenari.
I don’t have all that I need to make it but when I do oh man it sounds sooo good!

BTW has anyone heard from FCD?
I have a lot of the recipes of his saved.

originally posted by: Allaroundyou
a reply to: Lumenari

Thanks for the recipe Lumenari.
I don’t have all that I need to make it but when I do oh man it sounds sooo good!

BTW has anyone heard from FCD?
I have a lot of the recipes of his saved.

As do I, although I can't really eat half of them because of the sugar content...

The last time someone wondered where FCD was he popped onto the site for a day or two... he's probably quite busy with reality.

So I had to shoulder the burden of keeping the cooking section alive through these trying times.

a reply to: Lumenari

Elk is the absolute best meat I’ve ever tried.
Love it.

originally posted by: Lumenari

originally posted by: Allaroundyou
a reply to: Lumenari

Thanks for the recipe Lumenari.
I don’t have all that I need to make it but when I do oh man it sounds sooo good!

BTW has anyone heard from FCD?
I have a lot of the recipes of his saved.

As do I, although I can't really eat half of them because of the sugar content...

The last time someone wondered where FCD was he popped onto the site for a day or two... he's probably quite busy with reality.

So I had to shoulder the burden of keeping the cooking section alive through these trying times.

Well thank you for doing so. I was tempted to send a pm to you to ask you to.
I figured you have lots of goodies.

a reply to: Lumenari

Sounds delicious.

Do you hunt and butcher your own meat?

originally posted by: Liquesence
a reply to: Lumenari

Sounds delicious.

Do you hunt and butcher your own meat?

Yes.

Although I wouldn't technically call it "hunting" where I live...

I don't think I've placed an arrow from over 15 yards in years.

Here the "competition for resources" issue is me and my orchard VS the critters.

originally posted by: Macenroe82
a reply to: Lumenari

Elk is the absolute best meat I’ve ever tried.
Love it.

Moose to me is the best...

Followed by elk...

Bear...

Then deer.

We don't have a lot of moose here, but I was raised in British Columbia where there are a lot more so we as a family got at least one a season.

Moose stew, elk backstrap and bear sausage are the best recipes.

originally posted by: Lumenari

originally posted by: Liquesence
a reply to: Lumenari

Sounds delicious.

Do you hunt and butcher your own meat?

Yes.

Although I wouldn't technically call it "hunting" where I live...

I don't think I've placed an arrow from over 15 yards in years.

Here the "competition for resources" issue is me and my orchard VS the critters.

Same. I can usually get within 10 feet of them, simply because I feed them. I don't hunt, however. Just keeping them away from the garden and the flowers is frustrating enough.

There used to be a deer cooler across the street but I'm not sure what happened. I have considered ordering some venison. Probably just should shoot one, be much cheaper.

a reply to: Lumenari

Moose stew, elk backstrap and bear sausage are the best recipes.

Give you my address, if you'll add that pastrami to the package.

lol

a reply to: Liquesence

Same. I can usually get within 10 feet of them, simply because I feed them. I don't hunt, however. Just keeping them away from the garden and the flowers is frustrating enough.

Think ahead and feed them apples for about a month before you harvest one.

Makes the meat taste better.

Great tips! I just finished eating the last bit of my first batch of moose jerky, it was wicked.

originally posted by: Liquesence
a reply to: Lumenari

Moose stew, elk backstrap and bear sausage are the best recipes.

Give you my address, if you'll add that pastrami to the package.

lol

Speaking of competition for resources...

I would have to sneak that past my wife, my brother, my dad and a few of my kids.

originally posted by: Lumenari
a reply to: Liquesence

Same. I can usually get within 10 feet of them, simply because I feed them. I don't hunt, however. Just keeping them away from the garden and the flowers is frustrating enough.

Think ahead and feed them apples for about a month before you harvest one.

Makes the meat taste better.

They usually only eat grains: whole corn, bread, tortilla chips. They're wild.

originally posted by: Lumenari

originally posted by: Liquesence
a reply to: Lumenari

Moose stew, elk backstrap and bear sausage are the best recipes.

Give you my address, if you'll add that pastrami to the package.

lol

Speaking of competition for resources...

I would have to sneak that past my wife, my brother, my dad and a few of my kids.

I haven't seen nothing. Don't know nothing, lol.

Except for politics, you and I have a lot in common, it seems.

a reply to: Lumenari

Too many damn moose up here in northern Ontario.
They love to hang out on the hi way at night.
Damn vermin...just like dear.

originally posted by: Liquesence

originally posted by: Lumenari
a reply to: Liquesence

Same. I can usually get within 10 feet of them, simply because I feed them. I don't hunt, however. Just keeping them away from the garden and the flowers is frustrating enough.

Think ahead and feed them apples for about a month before you harvest one.

Makes the meat taste better.

They usually only eat grains: whole corn, bread, tortilla chips. They're wild.

Deer here love carrots, pears and apples... I will have 20 of them parked under my apple trees in the fall.

They get kinda disgusting because the apples and pears give them the runs.

So they lay there for two months, all poopy-butted and gnawing on whatever falls out of the trees...