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Never bone out shoulder again

Well I must have screwed up somehow. After three hours on the smoker and six in a roasting pan with cola, onions and wrapped in foil it was about a tough as a deflated football. I didn’t even bother giving it to the dogs. I was so damn mad, I hate wasting meat.
Not sure why I can’t cook a venison roast. I do wild hog and beef just fine. I can cut a deer roast and make it into steaks or stir fry without issue. Whenever I try to cook a venison muscle whole I end up waking the neighbors with cursing that would make a carrier full of sailors blush.
 
Well I must have screwed up somehow. After three hours on the smoker and six in a roasting pan with cola, onions and wrapped in foil it was about a tough as a deflated football. I didn’t even bother giving it to the dogs. I was so damn mad, I hate wasting meat.
Not sure why I can’t cook a venison roast. I do wild hog and beef just fine. I can cut a deer roast and make it into steaks or stir fry without issue. Whenever I try to cook a venison muscle whole I end up waking the neighbors with cursing that would make a carrier full of sailors blush.
What temperature did you cook at?
 
I had good intentions of smoking a shoulder and making fajitas out of it, but while digging through the freezer I ran into two shanks from 2018. So...I smoked them for an hour and then braised them in beer, onion and garlic all day. After shredding them, I added green and red pepper, onion and jalapeños as well as traditional fajita seasonings and olive oil to zip loc bag. Each day I will portion out a days worth and fry it all together in a cast iron skillet for my lunch this week.
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I had good intentions of smoking a shoulder and making fajitas out of it, but while digging through the freezer I ran into two shanks from 2018. So...I smoked them for an hour and then braised them in beer, onion and garlic all day. After shredding them, I added green and red pepper, onion and jalapeños as well as traditional fajita seasonings and olive oil to zip loc bag. Each day I will portion out a days worth and fry it all together in a cast iron skillet for my lunch this week.
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You have my attention!
 
I made up a pronghorn shoulder this past weekend. I’ve come to the same conclusion. I will never again trim out a shoulder on anything smaller than an elk.
 

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Tried a new recipe today and it turned out amazing. Take a whole deer or antelope shoulder and season however you’d like. Throw it on smoker at 200 degrees for 2.5-3 hours. Put it in an aluminum foil pan. Add a few sliced peppers and onions. Dump a can of chilis in sauce on top of the shoulder. Dump in a bottle of coke and cover the pan in tin foil and put back on the smoker at 300 degrees for another 3 hours. Pull off and the meat will fall off the bone. Shred it and put it on taco shells. I will never bone out another shoulder on a deer or antelope again.
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That looks awsome gonna try next season
 
Tried a new recipe today and it turned out amazing. Take a whole deer or antelope shoulder and season however you’d like. Throw it on smoker at 200 degrees for 2.5-3 hours. Put it in an aluminum foil pan. Add a few sliced peppers and onions. Dump a can of chilis in sauce on top of the shoulder. Dump in a bottle of coke and cover the pan in tin foil and put back on the smoker at 300 degrees for another 3 hours. Pull off and the meat will fall off the bone. Shred it and put it on taco shells. I will never bone out another shoulder on a deer or antelope again.
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I’m with you on this recipe...simple and delicious
 
I tried the Hank Shaw Venison Barbacoa shoulder recipe for a party using a whole mule deer shoulder. Smoked for 2 hours, crock pot for another 2-3. I did not think it was fall off the bone, seemed like I did more cutting than “pulling”. I thought the taste was pretty good, nothing crazy delicious, but the party guests really liked it. I will try it again someday.
Responding to an old comment here, but I’ve used his recipe for both shoulder and shanks with fall off the bone success.

I have my mom’s old crockpot from the 1970’s and am not sure if it’s somehow less effective that contemporary ones. But, the meat stays in for about 7-8 hours on high, even when using meat from younger does. The lime juice and apple cider vinegar in that recipe add an extra assist to breaking down and tenderizing the meat. Everything shreds right up with forks once it’s done.
 
You guys are making me wish I had some game in the freezer! I hope to put a few does in the freezer this year just for this purposes.
 
Tried a new recipe today and it turned out amazing. Take a whole deer or antelope shoulder and season however you’d like. Throw it on smoker at 200 degrees for 2.5-3 hours. Put it in an aluminum foil pan. Add a few sliced peppers and onions. Dump a can of chilis in sauce on top of the shoulder. Dump in a bottle of coke and cover the pan in tin foil and put back on the smoker at 300 degrees for another 3 hours. Pull off and the meat will fall off the bone. Shred it and put it on taco shells. I will never bone out another shoulder on a deer or antelope again.
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tl;dr the whole thread. What kind of wood?
 
Tried a new recipe today and it turned out amazing. Take a whole deer or antelope shoulder and season however you’d like. Throw it on smoker at 200 degrees for 2.5-3 hours. Put it in an aluminum foil pan. Add a few sliced peppers and onions. Dump a can of chilis in sauce on top of the shoulder. Dump in a bottle of coke and cover the pan in tin foil and put back on the smoker at 300 degrees for another 3 hours. Pull off and the meat will fall off the bone. Shred it and put it on taco shells. I will never bone out another shoulder on a deer or antelope again.
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Tried this today and it was fantastic.
 
I do something similar minus smoking.

I sweat down a large red onion, then add a layer of carrots and celery along with some fresh garlic, thyme, parsley and sage. Add some tomato paste on top of the veggies, then the roast on top of that. I will then add chicken stock and a half bottle of red wine. Cover and cook at 225 for 3.5-4 hours. I will pull the roast and and then strain out the liquid keeping some. I then take what's left of the veggies and put in a food processor and turn into a sauce, adding some of the liquid if I need to thin it. Sorry no pics of the finished product.

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