The satisfaction of harvesting a wild animal goes beyond description. Being at one with the outdoors, learning the behavior of the game you pursue and bringing it home to the table, free from hormones and antibiotics. Just pure protein. From the field, to your plate.
We will start with 3 cuts from the hind quarters of 2 deer we harvested this year. Each weighing in around 2#.
First step in this was to make my brine. This consisted of the ingredients in the following photo with 1 1/2 cups water, brought to a near boil and simmered for 30 minutes.
Spices are as follows starting at the top going clockwise.
1 Tbl Crushed Juniper Berries.
1 1/2 Tbl Cracked Peppercorns (I used the colorful mixture of peppercorns for this)
1/2 Tbl Cracked Mustard Seed
1 tsp Fennel
1 tsp Rosemary
1 Tbl Pickling Spice
3 Bay leaves
Not pictured because I forgot was.
1/2 Tbl Brown Sugar
1 tsp Minced Garlic
After the simmer, this was set to let cool then added 1 Tbl Tenderquick.
Used my brine needle and pumped each piece several times while they say in a small glass cassarole pan. (Sorry, forgot the pics of this process) After they sat for a while, the liquid that leaked from them was spooned of and reloaded my brine needled and injected them once more.
Now it’s time to add the first rub.
Again, starting at the top going clockwise, the spices are.
1 1/2 Tbl Black Pepper
1 tsp Granulated Garlic
1 tsp Granulated Onion
1 1/2 Tbl Brown Sugar
1/2 Tbl Paprika
1/4 Tbl Ground Juniper Berries
1/4 tsp Ground Clove
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1 Tbl Tenderquick per pound of meat
Next step was to coat all 3 pieces of meat with the rub. I sprinkled it lightly at first, giving the moisture in the meat time to wet the spices and hold them to the surface. Then I sprinkled the remainder on, rubbed it a bit till it stuck.
Next, into zip lock bags sealed up tight, then all 3 individual bags were put into a 1 gallon bag and into the fridge for a week. (1 day for every 1/4" of thickness measured from the center out on the thickest piece) During this time, I turned the bags over 2 times a day so any liquid that was at the bottom would be at the top and baste the meat, so to speak.
After a week in the fridge, it was time to take them out. Here you can see just how dark they became.
I then rinsed off the rub that had been on there for the past week with cold water.
Patted dry, its now time for the final rub. This consists of, starting at the top, going counter clockwise this time.
3 Tbl Ground (Melange) Peppercorns. (Would cut in half next time)
1 Tbl Cracked Mustard Seed
2 Tbl Cracked Corriander
2 tsp Ground Juniper Berries.
Same things as before. Sprinkled it on all 3 pieces of meat until the moister darkend it, then added the rest.
Here they are, all ready for a good smoke.
Smoked for 9 hours at 195 degrees with Cherry Wood. At roughly the 7 hour mark, internal temps were 145. I pulled each of them out, sat them in a double layer of heavy foil and added 1 Tbl of beef broth to each one. Wrapped up tight and back into the smoker.
At 9 hours, internal temps were 164 degrees. Removed them and let them rest for one hour. Here is one of them out of the foil.
I know I should have let them go to the fridge before slicing, but I couldn’t help it. I had to try some. Took the smallest one and cut it open. Color was great. Very very moist with wonderful flavor and texture.
Only thing to do now is to let them cool in the fridge overnight, slice thin and freeze in serving size portions in foodsaver bags. This pastrami is a delicacy and eaten on homemade Rye bread with home canned sauerkraut and some Swiss. Well let's just say that makes for a very memorable lunch.
Any questions on this, as with any of my posts, all you have to do is ask.
Hope you enjoyed this post. There are several ways to enjoy wild game, but pastrami has to be the best !!!
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