As most big game hunters know, you get far more “usable” meat from the hindquarters of a deer than the front quarters.
The front quarters are often tougher to deal with and contain far more sinew and ligaments that are difficult to work with for creating nice venison roasts.
The solution is to cook/smoke the front quarters whole!
This blog post will explain exactly how to make perfect smoked whole deer leg with those front quarters that will be the envy of everyone who gets a taste!
Recipe for Smoked Whole Deer / Venison Leg
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I’ve pulled this recipe together from a few sources and added my own touches based on my experiences with smoking quite a few of these.
You definitely should check out Hank Shaw’s book Buck Buck Moose and the section on cooking primal cuts, which has definitely inspired me.
Ingredients for Smoked Whole Deer / Venison Leg
- Bacon
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Apple pellets or wood/chips
- Salt – Kosher or I like to use the Himalayan sea salt
- Sugar
- Black Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Paprika
- Brown Sugar
- Rock / Ice Cream Salt
The process of preparing to smoke a whole deer leg
The whole process starts with brining the whole deer leg 24 hours in advance.
Use 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1 cup of ice cream salt, and add enough COLD water to cover the entire deer leg in whatever container is large enough.
I was able to use a disposable tray as my deer leg was small enough and I used a saw to cut part of the leg and break/bend it to fit.
Pull the deer leg from the brine. If you used a smaller salt size you may need to give it a gentle rinse. I don’t mind a saltier bark and I use the bigger rock salt, so I’m not too worried about this step.
Gently pat (don’t rub!) it dry on both sides with paper towels.
I like to let it dry for about 1 hour after pulling it from the brine.
Now for the fun part!
Cook up 1 lb of bacon and store the grease/fat that comes off of it. You should do this while the deer leg is drying.
Collect the grease in a glass jar or suitable container and place in the freezer to cool it off so you can work with it.
I like the reserved bacon fat to be cool, but more of an oil texture. If you let it cool all the way it will be more like butter consistency which is much harder to work with.
Combine the salt, black pepper, sugar, paprika, and cayenne pepper together to make the rub.
Spread the bacon fat/oil on one side of the deer leg and cover generously with the rub.
Turn it over and repeat for the other side using all of the bacon fat from 1 lb of bacon (or MCs as the song goes!).
Smoking the whole deer leg
Get that grill warmed up to 225 degrees, and place a drip pan underneath the grate with about 1-2 cups of apple cider vinegar.
Place the deer leg on the smoker and insert the meat probe, being very careful to hit the center of the meat and not next to a bone.
You will find the meat will rise very quickly in temperature, but don’t be alarmed, it will slow down to a crawl when it hits around 165.
Some will say you can take it off at this point, but don’t be deterred! The goal is to hit between 190 and 200.
I like to provide a range because we all have schedule issues that may result in you pulling it too early or wanting it to stay on longer.
If you pull it before 190 degrees you will notice a difference in end product quality.
You need to think about this more like smoking a pork shoulder, we are trying to render and obliterate all the ligaments and sinew by getting it to this higher temperature.
My most recent attempt required 8 hours to get to 190 when I pulled it and it turned out amazing!
I did turn it up to 275 when it was about 180 to really hammer home the last 30 minutes of time I had to smoke it.
Don’t think for a second your deer leg has dried out, even though it may appear that way.
Let it rest for 15-30 minutes and then move on to the next stage: The finished product!
The finished product: Wonderful smoked venison meat
It’s time to cut this wonderful meat up. It doesn’t all shred like a pork shoulder would, you’re cutting most of it into tiny strips, but some sections are more tender and will shred.
In this particular instance, I was taking my deer leg to a banquet, so I combined it in a serving tray with my favorite BBQ sauce.
There are a lot of great cooks who brought various dishes to this banquet/potluck, but multiple people came up to me and said they only went back for seconds of this smoked BBQ whole deer leg.
It tastes that good!
Oh and if you’re having trouble getting all the meat off closest to the bone, that’s okay, tap into your inner savage, pick up that bone, and gnaw on it until it’s clean! You’re welcome!
My grill/smoker I use to make great meats
I’ve had so much success making great smoked products on my Traeger Pro 575 grill. I wrote about many of the meats I love to smoke on my Traeger here.
You should definitely consider this if you’re in the market for a new grill. Don’t just go buy a propane grill from a local big box store.
It’s the wood that makes it good!
