Great Venison Cooking

Posts Tagged ‘salad’

To say Rick is obsessed with smoking our venison is an understatement. He spends hours figuring out just the right way to use our gas grill to get the exact perfect smoked roast. Someday we’ll invest in a real smoker, but for now we use the grill. And we use it a lot because smoked meat is so delicious! The indirect heat keeps the venison from drying out while it slow cooks. And slow cooking is the key to flavorful venison roasts. And if you use hickory chips, even in a gas grill you’ll get that smoky flavor that warms your belly and makes you wish it was autumn.

Here’s how you use the gas grill to smoke venison: you need a gas grill with two or more individually controlled burners and you need a temperature gauge mounted in the lid…preferably marked in degrees. If your grill doesn’t have one, pick one up at any store that sells grill parts; it’s important that you know what the temperature inside the grill is. Ideally, your grill will be able to maintain a constant temperature of 225°. (Ours doesn’t so we have to watch the meat carefully.)

Turn on the left or back burner and heat the grill to 225°. Place hickory chips or other smoking wood in a bread pan and cover with water. Place the pan over the heated burner.

The key to smoking is indirect heat, so once the grill starts smoking, put the meat on the burner that is off. Smoke until meat is cooked through. Sausages take about 1 hour, a 2-lb roast takes about 3 hours. Use your meat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature.

We smoked a roast for Easter lunch, and it was heavenly! Rick made a sandwich and I made a salad.

This salad is amazing. In fact, I use the dressing as a marinade as well. The flavors blend perfectly together for a real taste treat. The original recipe called for chicken.

I love my salads. I love my southwestern food too. I really love when the two are combined. This salad is hearty and yummy.