Here's one for all the gourmets out there.

We had a rather succesful week last week taking 5 bucks in two days on the shoot. The result was that I have a glut of venison which I refuse to sell to the game dealer for a pittance.

So today the first dry cured haunch went into production!!

I took the bottom bone out of a yearlings haunch and salted it with a curing mixture of salt/sugar/juniper/allspice/pepper. I covered it and put a weight on it and it will stay there for a week. I'll then take it out and wash, wrap it in muslin and hang it in the barn for 4-5 weeks.

That is the plan so far, but has anyone got any sugestions, or experience in dry curing venison? The joint weighed about 6-7lbs. I think the lack of fat inthe meat may make it a little harder than pork to cure well.

FB

I use to cut moose meat in 0,5-1pound pieces and put it in a bowl with about 1 liter water mixed with 5 spoons(ca 1/10 liter)of salt and one with sugar.I let lay in the mixture in 24-48 hours, and then let it hang for about 4-8 days.

Kimmo

Hi Kimmo,


I was tempted to cure the meat in a solution as I had a recipie using wine and water. When you do it this way how long did the moose meat last for after drying?

FB

Hello Fallow
I like the Biltong , and had interest to made it with deer meat , but I live in north of Spain 5 kms from Cantabrian sea and I have in my area a lot rain it means high humidity over 70 % , and it could be against drying meat how you do it in UK with the usuall rain and humidity ?
Thanks
Daniel

It will last for years but to prevent it from become to dry and hard i put it in the frezer.

How much are you getting per KG from the dealer?

Hi 1894,

Neck shot fallow bucks are making about 25p/lb & the front boxed animals are making half that. On top of that, most dealers here won't take them at the moment, definately not 5 at a time.

Either way I would rather give it to friends and family and do my bit for promoting game. We bought a mincer/sausage maker, & the results are great. What do you get down your way?

I find it so annoying that at the dealers are selling this stuff on for such a mark up. A 2.5Lb SHIN!! was making �12 while a topside was around �14/lb. Sirloin and fillets make silly money at the fairs!!! Around �1-�1.50/lb would be a fair price for the beast in the jacket, but such are market forces...

FB

FB

Fallow Buck,
You are right! market forces do dictate, but what we need to do is educate the public to insist on U.K venison..


Griff

p.s we won a gold award in the Scotland Magazine with our parma "style " venison ham.

Nitrox,

This is thefirst time I have done this, so I'm a littleunsure of the outcome. It was a mixture of cooking salt and sugar in a ratio of 4:1, and added a selection of "aromatics". Juniper, Peppercorns, Cinnamon,and a touch of allspice. The whole joint was rubbed in the mix and then covered with it in a box with a weight pushing down on it.It's amazing the moisture it drew out.

Incidentally I had the boned out joint in red wine for an hour first, then dried it thoroughly before salting.

It's coming out on saturday so I'll let you know how it looks, before I hang it.

Now over to Griff who I'm sure is much more knowledgable than I.

FB

Hi all,

The haunch came out of the salt today...

It smelt STUNNING...

We washed and dried it and thenn wrapped it in Muslin. It is now habnging oin the barn for a couple of weeks. Whenit came out it was VERY dark, & firm to the touch. The weight made it considerably thinner. It is about 2" think now, but it was a buck fawn so not the biggest joint to start with.

I can't wait to try it and get another on the go!!

FB

In april is it between ca. -5 - +15c degrees.But a have maked dry meat indoors in 16-27c it take ca 4-6 days in 16-18c.
I took down my moose meat Sunday it had hung for 8 days tasted fine.

Thanks.

I will be buying a refridgerated shipping container (for other reasons) and it will freeze down to -30 deg C. So will probably hang my attempts in there if necessary.

At the moment it is Autumn here and days are between 15 deg C to 25 deg C (and up to 30 deg C). Nights get down to 4 deg C.

I wouldn't do it in Autumn as the stags are not in good enough condition (after the rut). Jan/Feb (Summer) they are good, and later in Winter and Spring Ok too. Does are fat at the moment though.

(PS As I farm deer I would use farm deer for trying to make hams. They are fatter than wild deer too.)

We're waiting for those tips, Griff!

sorry, been away stalking for 3 days!

Heres the trade secrets.

We use a bacon cure, you can use just about any mixture of spices you wish but a simple cracked black pepper will suffice. length of time in the cure will depend on the strength of your bacon cure ( usually about 10 days).
We use individual muscle and not the whole haunch,all fat/grissle must be removed as this goes rancid.

now heres the secret, once you have covered your venison with the cure and spices vac pack it and let it cure in its own brine, turning every day.

once its cured hang it in a refridgerator between 4/6 degrees, if you have it any higher there will be mould growth,this mould is harmless but it spoils the appearance, to get rid of the mould you can immerse the venison in a mild solution of vinegar, this will kill the mould. the drying times vary from fridge to fridge but a month is about the norm.
good luck

griff

p.s the venison needs to be no less than ten days old. otherwise it won't accept the cure.

sorry guys,

forgot to tell you to smoke it for 2 days after you have cured it.

griff

aplogies once again did not read the first post thoroughly!!

the bacon cure is a dry cure, when i find the list of ingredients i will post.

secondly, once you have covered the meat with the dry cure and any spice you wish, vac pack it, the vac pack will cause the meat to produce its own brine, there! I think thats a bit clearer.....
salt has a hardening effect on all flesh the adding of sugar will prevent case hardening.

griff