How to Make a Smoked Deer Ham
Learn how to make smoked deer ham to use for a holiday ham, soups, or sandwiches with this deer ham recipe.
Servings: 10 servings
Ingredients
- 1 venison hindquarter roast, about 4 to 5 pounds (you can use deer, elk, antelope, or moose)
- 3 quarts water
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon Instacure #1 (also called Prague Powder #1 or Pink Curing Salt)
- ½ cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Mix the sugar, salt, and curing salt in the water until it dissolves. Submerge the venison roast (ham) in the brine for 4 days in the fridge.
- Take the deer ham out of the brine, pat it dry with paper towels, set it on a wire rack with rimmed baking sheet, and put it back in the fridge uncovered overnight to dry.
- Smoke over your favorite wood chips for 1 hour, getting the smoker's temperature up to 220 degrees F. After the deer ham has smoked for 1 hour, heat the maple syrup in the microwave and brush the ham with it every hour until the ham reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees F.
- Let the deer ham cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing on a large cutting board. Serve warm or cold.
