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OK folks, here it is: The best recipe for a deer’s front shoulder I’ve yet to find: Venison barbacoa.
This is a classic Mexican barbacoa, a mildly spicy, long-braised variant on barbecue works perfectly with the tough, sinewy front legs on a deer, or really any animal. Historically I’ve mostly used front legs for stew and for grinding, but this is even better. The meat cooks very slowly, and all that connective tissue dissolves into the broth and makes everything richer and just a little slick. Keeps your lips shiny.
Barbacoa, if you’ve never had it, is more warming than picante. Yes, there are chipotles in adobo in it, which can be bought in every Latin market I’ve ever been in, but not so many that your head blows off. The cloves are a stronger element, as are the cumin and bay.
If you want to test this recipe before making it, go to your nearest Chipotle restaurant and try their barbacoa: my venison barbacoa is virtually identical.
Serve it in tacos, burritos or over rice. And be sure to have at least a few of the traditional accompaniments, like cilantro, crumbled queso seco cheese, chopped onions, sour cream, fresh or pickled chiles, avocados — basically anything that works well on a taco.
You can buy chipotles in adobo in many supermarkets, and definitely in Latin markets or online. Oh, and read closely: My barbacoa recipe calls for 2 to 4 chiles in adobo, not cans of chiles en adobo! Many have made that mistake to their peril…
Still not convinced? Well, barbacoa may well be in the Top 5 Easiest Recipes on this website. It’s literally a crockpot-it-and-go dish. Minimal chopping, and the only thing you need to do as a cook is to shred the meat.
Want to up your barbacoa game even more? Smoke your venison neck, shanks or shoulder first. Real simple, just salt it well let it sit overnight, then smoke it for a few hours at about 200°F. Then proceed with the recipe. You’re welcome. No, seriously, doing this makes your barbacoa smack-yo-momma-in-the-face good!
Stupid crazy easy. Try it and you will not be sad. If you want a hot-weather variant of this recipe, try my Venison Yucatan.
One more thing: This stuff reheats beautifully, so make a big batch.
Venison Barbacoa
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 pounds venison, from the shoulder or legs
- 2 to 4 chipotles in adobo, canned
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ cup lime juice
- ½ cup cider vinegar
- 1 quart beef or venison stock
- 1/4 cup lard or vegetable oil
- Smoked salt (optional)
- Cilantro, shredded cheese, sour cream, avocados and hot sauce for garnish
Instructions
- Put everything in a slow cooker or Dutch oven and cook, covered, until the meat falls off the bone, which will be between 2 hours (for many domestic meats and young deer) and 6 hours if you have a very old animal. If you use a slow cooker, set it to “high.” If you use a regular pot, put it into the oven set to 300°F.
- Pull all the meat from the bones and shred with forks or your fingers. Stir in the lard and as much smoked salt as you want. You want the lard or oil to coat the shreds of meat. Pour over some of the juices from the pot and put the meat in a pan for the table. Serve with tacos, in a burrito or on a bun.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you have any venison canning recipes. I don’t like the idea of losing all my venison meat if our power ever fails for an extended period of time. Never keep all your eggs in one basket.
I made this once with a bone-in venison roast and it was excellent. I have some boneless skinless Canada goose breasts, do you think those would work as a venison replacement ?
Bryan: No. Breast meat isn’t very good in this. Legs would be what you’d want. Next time, save some!
Agree with the above; go Low & Slow. I had a 2 kg piece of meat and did low in slow cooker for 5-6 hours. Shred and put back in juices while prepping everything else.
Awesome venison recipe. I like intense flavours so I removed the juices to a frying pan and reduced them while I pulled the shoulder meat. This made a sticky sauce that I then mixed through the pulled meat along with some bacon fat. Great result!
Jenna it sounds like you didn’t cook it long enough. I know the recipe calls for 3 hours in the slow cooker but I put it in first thing in the morning and let it cook all day. Venison is very lean and can take a while to start to come apart. Try it again. Trust me you won’t be disappointed. This is my favourite venison recipe and once you get it right you’ll be very impressed!
Not sure how I screwed this one up. I used what I had left which was a bone in neck roast from a young deer and a couple of ham steaks from a 3-5 year old doe. It was hard to shred the meat, it was somewhat chewy and not very flavorful. I used 2 peppers in about 2.5 pounds of meat.
I heard you bring this recipe up on the Hunt Backcountry podcast, really had my mouth watering. I have one question, you mention meat falling off the bone – can you clarify for me if you are leaving the meat on the scapula and putting that in the pot? Are you removing the shank as well or putting the whole leg in there? Guessing when you shred you pull out sinew at that point and don’t try cutting it out before you cook?
Marcus: It works with bone-in or boneless meat, and the sinew melts, so you don’t have to worry about it.
I stumbled across some older antelope roasts in the bottom of the deep freezer this past week and decided to try this recipe out of Buck Buck Moose. Overall I liked it however the vinegar/clove smell while cooking was a bit off putting. The meat didn’t fall apart (probably due to it being speedgoat) so I chopped it and added a little of the cooking mixture back with the meat to moisten. Overall pretty good.
I’ve never had anyone tell me my food was awesome…..until I made this! This will be my go-to party-meal for the foreseeable future.
This is THE best venison recipe for a party! Everyone loves tacos. And for those who think they don’t like venison, they are free to load up on more of the other ingredients without being rude.
I add beef lard to the crock pot at the beginning and it works great.
Great tasting and easy to throw together.
Howdy, Hank! Had all the boys over for a game dinner in February and rather than using up my valuable backstraps on that bunch of stinky, old duck hunters, I used a “lesser” cut and made the Barbacoa from your new cookbook. As I sometimes do, I tweaked it a bit (added a dash of cinnamon to the mix). Wow! What a fantastic recipe! Such great flavors. And the juice! Oh the juice! I could just sit down and drink a bucket of that juice. I thought I was making enough to ensure leftovers, but those guys kept going back until it was gone. Definitely a keeper.
I’m based in Brooklyn, NY – and my father-in-law from Wisconsin keeps my freezer stocked with venison. I’ve been playing around with a few different recipes…and have had some successes and some fails…but I’m often wishing for a more tender result. But this one….This one! I’ve got a new guru in you Mr. Shaw.
I have made this recipe twice and every time it comes out better. I’m making it again but instead of using back strap I’m using a deer neck. I usually cook mine for 10+ hours in a crock pot. Makes the meat even more tender and the juices stay in. I don’t use all the ingredients but I do use all the veggies and then some. Thank you for your recipe.
Thanks Hank-
For roasts you stated to chunk and braise – should I sear the meat at all or just put it in the crock pot at the same time as the add’l ingredients mentioned above?
Brent: I don’t sear the meat in this recipe, but it won’t hurt it if you do.
Looks good Hank – why not add lard in before you start the slow cooker though? First-timer w/ venison roasts – thanks for the recipe!
Brent: Because you won’t get a nice coating on the shredded meat if you do it that way.
Hank, I used an older deer shoulder, probably 5-6 pounds. Missed the part where you specified 2-3 pounds. Should I have doubled the amount for each ingredient? The meat doesn’t seem to be as flavorful as the first time I made it.
Taylor: Oops! Yep, you needed more flavorings for more meat.
My club in Benicia is full of Northern Shovelers. I normally pass them up, but would this be a good recipe for bay area spoonies?
Alec: If you skin them, sure. But I prefer leg meat of bird for this recipe. Better for snow geese or Canadas.
Been learning from and loving your book and blog recipes for a while Hank – thanks from everyone who benefits at our table! Question on cook times for anyone – the recipe suggests 2 hrs on high but I am used to 5-6 hour venison stews on low. Any observations on time/temp combos and how they impact texture and tenderness?
Brian: It’s hard to recommend something that distinct, as slow cookers are all different. I’d go with what you know.
We had this tonight and it was delicious. The shank I used was 3 pounds with bone. It definitely could have used a longer time frame, but after 3 hours most of it was very tender. The rest is still in the crock pot. The flavor is delicious.