How to Make Venison Bacon

Bacon is one of life's best indulgences. The smell, the taste...it doesn't get better! Unfortunately, if you want venison bacon, you'll have to make it (or have your meat processor do it). Deer are lean, and therefore don't have enough belly fat to produce anything like pork bacon. But you can mix venison with pork, spice it right, and have tasty fake bacon. You can use it just as you would pork bacon-either adding it to recipes or eating it plain. Here is the best recipe I've found so far. I don't know who originally came up with this recipe, but I'm grateful every time I eat it!

You will need a meat grinder (or grinder attachment) and smoker, which are essential cooking tools for venison lovers!

For 25 lbs of venison bacon, you'll need half venison and half pork trimmings (50% meat/50 fat). If 25 lbs sounds like a lot of bacon, remember you can freeze it.

The spices and cure are what really make the venison bacon tasty, and preserve it. Buying a pre-made spice kit is the easiest way to go about making sure you have the right blend. Just about any place that sells sausage making equipment and accessories will have a venison bacon kit. The average price is around $5 for a kit that produces 25 lbs of bacon. Not bad!

Before you start, make sure you have about 10 loaf pans ready (foil pans are easiest), cooking spray, wax paper, and a meat thermometer.

First grind the meat; double grind it to make sure the meats are thoroughly mixed. Use the fine blade for the second grinding. Put it in the bowl and add the seasoning and cure, mixing in water (your seasoning kit will tell you how much).

Spray the loaf pans with cooking spray and pack the meat into them. You want the meat to be about 2 inches deep. Cover the pans tightly with wax paper and store in the refrigerator (or the garage if it's cold enough) for 8 to 12 hours.

Spray the smoker rack with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Remove the meat from the pans and place it on the rack. You'll smoke the meat at 130 for 1 hour, then turn up the temperature to 160 and smoke for 2 more hours. After smoking, remove the meat from the rack and put it in the oven at 180 for 4 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 155.

Allow the bacon to sit out until it reaches room temperature and then refrigerate it overnight. You can then slice it into strips. Package it into 1 lb packs and freeze for use throughout the year. Enjoy!

Susan Rose is creator of The Hunting Widow's Guide to Great Venison Cooking, greatvenisoncooking.com, a collection of venison recipes and instructions on how to prepare venison so that it is a culinary treat. She is currently compiling the recipes for a venison cookbook and encourages people to submit recipes.

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