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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.
The only thing I do differently is smoke the venison (I usually use the neck roast) for 2 or 3 hours before I crock it. Gives a nice little hint of smoke in the final product.
We make this probably at least once a month. It’s a great meal to make during the week since you can start it in the morning and have it ready by the time you get home from work. It also makes a ton of leftovers, so we can have multiple meals from one batch (burrito bowls, quesadillas, breakfast hash). We’ve recently started to put one full can of adobe peppers in and have really enjoyed it.
Made this over the weekend, yet again. Love it. Great use for the front legs, which, compared to the rump, add little meat and lots of rubbery bits to what goes in the grinder. My wife gave it a big thumbs-up, which is not in insignificant endorsement!
Would 2 pounds of venison “rump steaks” work with this recipe? It sounds awesome!
Anthony: Yep, that would work.
Hank,
I had my venison processed professionally and as a result it is all packaged as boneless cuts. What cuts should I try to use for this recipe?
Thanks
Jim: Stew meat would be my first choice.
I’m going through Buck Buck Moose and making one recipe every weekend. I’d make more except for time. Made venison Barbacoa yesterday and it was great.
Question – previous commenter asked about saving stock but I’d like to know in general can this or any left over cooking stock be frozen and will it keep as long as regular bone stock?
Thanks, really enjoying your book!
Carl: I freeze in quart jars, with about 1 inch of headspace so when the stock expands when it freezes the jar will not explode.
I made this for my family and they absolutely loved it! My wife typically does not like venison, but she really likes it when I used this recipe- we ate it on soft shell tacos, with all of the recommended toppings, and fresh salsa, so good!
I saved some for a fishing trip/guys weekend and my friends all loved it, too- super easy recipe, with great results. Thanks Hank!
Hi Hank!
I’ve made this recipe three times now (two times with venison and once with javelina) every time I reserved a portion of the meat for a batch of tamales. Tamales and barbacoa tacos where KILLER every time.
My question is about the reserved cooking liquid from the barbacoa. The second time I made this I figured it might be interesting to freeze the liquid and use it for the next batch of barbacoa. I was inspired by your talks on the “master stock” concept. The only thing I didn’t consider was the fact that the cooking liquid was already well seasoned and when I made the recipe again I seasoned it per the original recipe. Do you think through repeated us of a stock for barbacoa that it will become too seasoned? I’d be interested to hear your thought on this topic. Thanks in advance!
Daniel: No, because you will always need to add more water or basic stock. When I get a master stock that’s super powerful, I end up just adding water to make up the difference in liquid needed.
Made this for the first time tonight. Had a venison roast in the freezer I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with. This recipe is phenomenal! Family loved it. Followed the advice of a couple others and reduced the liquid down by about half in a cast iron skillet (cooked meat in the crock pot). Definitely a keeper!
I’ve been using this recipe for a few years and it never disappoints. Thank you so much!
Hank, I just wanted to say thank you! Your website and books are fantastic and have helped me escape the Scandinavian/German flavorless food of the Upper Midwest. This recipe opened my mind to new ideas of what I could do with venison and converted my wife into a hunter. It’s simple and easy to make and full of flavor. WAY better than ground beef & Tone’s taco seasoning!
I used this recipe on two pronghorn roasts. Cooked them for 5-6 hours in the slow cooker then took it out and put it all in the fridge. When I was ready to serve I separated the meat from the liquids. I reheated the meat in a skillet with a little veggie oil and broke the meat up with a wooden spoon. I then reduced the liquids down in a saucepan to make an amazing sauce that I drizzled over the meat and served with tortillas. Fantastic!!
Combined these seasonings with the liquids a little thick like a paste, slathered in on to a shoulder, wrapped in foil, and did it on indirect heat on the grill. Awe-some!
Made this in my Instant Pot. 30 minutes at high pressure with natural release. I reduced the amount of stock by about half since more moisture is retained. It probably could have used a few minutes longer, but still very good.
I’m making an overnight sous vide version of this tonight with 2017’s big doe. Very excited.
If using a neck roast, would you cook it whole or break it down into pieces? Mostly concerned with drying out the meat on the inside if left whole. I’ve been able to avoid this with shoulder roasts but this neck roast is next level. Making this for our Cinco de Mayo party. Thanks Hank!
Todd: Your call. I’d leave it whole to braise, then shred and mix with the sauce and some fresh lard. But you can certainly break it down in the beginning.
Any ideas for using the leftover broth? We froze it the first time we made the recipe and reused it the next time, but there has to be another use. It would be a shame to toss it out. Ideas?
Ryan: I keep some as a “master stock” that I reuse over and over. I do toss some, as I have limited freezer space. You can braise any meat in it, though.
Thanks for the advice, Hank. I’m excited to try it.
I saved a lot of duck legs over the course of the fall/winter. Should I go 3-4lbs instead of 2-3 because of the bones? I’m not quite sure how much I should compensate for that.
Rob: I’d go 4 pounds.
Could you do this in an instant pot in less time pressure cooking and still get the same flavor?
Casey: I have no idea. I generally don’t like pressure cookers, but I bet it would be OK.