RE: How do I smoke a deer ham?
There are a couple of issues with smoking a deer leg.
A. You need to cure it. I would suggest a wet cure. Figure 1lb. Kosher salt to 1 lb. of sugar to 1 Gallon of water. You can add Soy, worcesthire, garlic or whatever you want to this. Soak the leg in this "brine" for at least 24 hrs. 36 if it's over 15lbs. If it is over 15lbs. Take a thin bladed knife and make a few punctures in it to the bone. this will exoedite the process.
B. Assumming this is is wild, the leg is going to be tough. To cook leaner, tough cuts cook it low and slow. Try not to get the smoker over 300 degrees and let it go at least 4 hours. You probably wont need "smoke" i.e. wood chips for the whole duration because of the length of the cooking time.
C. After 4 hrs. take a thin bladed knife again and insert it into the center of the thickest part of the meat. Leave it for 60 seconds and remove. Place the blade on the inside of your wrist ( as testing a baby's milk) if it feels warm, take it off. If not, let it go till it does.
D. Being so lean, you may opt to add some fat to the process aa well. Just drape some raw bacon or pork fat over the meat after you've got a little smoke in it already. this will keep it from drying out.
Let me know how it works out.
Trushot }}------>
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