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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.
So good and so versatile!
I have a venison ham, which I think is the hind leg, right? The deer was killed by a friend last fall and I’ve just now thawed it out. It’s big – 15lbs with the bone. I’m brining it for 24 hours. You say that the legs should not be bigger than 8lbs, so I’m nervous that this will be tough and gamey. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
Anthony: That’s a big ham! You might need to brine it for several days.
I made this a couple of months ago with an elk rump roast that had been hiding in my freezer for longer than I care to admit (mostly because there’s only two of us and the processor made these huge (6 lb) roasts). I’d read the recipe when I got BBM when it was published, then was further inspired by the Netflix Taco Chronicles. I partially thawed and cut in half (made the chipotle jerky with the other half) and prepared in the crockpot, almost exactly to the recipe in BBM. The ultimate set it and forget it crock pot recipe – went out for a hike and came back to the incredible fragrance of the spice combination. All I can say is wow! Tender, perfect level of spice, and wish I’d made this sooner. I still have one more monster roast in the freezer and it’s destined for round 2 of the same preparation.
Killer barbacoa. We liked this so much, I canned a whole sheep from our flock as this barbacoa and we eat it weekly. Great as tacos. Great on rice
Have made this twice now for tacos and tamale filling. I’ve used leg meat so far — cooking time may vary by the muscle used so just keep cooking until its tender and can be easily pulled apart with a fork. Turned out wonderfully both times and have shared with others who have also loved this recipe and had success with venison shoulder as well. It’s super easy to make in the crock pot and you can use the braising liquid for the masa in Hank’s venison tamales recipe!
Didn’t have chipotle in adobo, so I tried this with our local Chimayo, and it was delish. Thanks, Hank!
Excellent recipe it doesn’t get much better than this.
I always keep leftovers of this frozen in 1-1.5# packs. Makes great breakfast burritos. Eggs give the venison some much needed richness. I’ve never had a deer “give up” with less than 6 hours in the crockpot though.
This recipe is also great for peccary (javelina) shoulder…whole family loves it!
Thanks Hank. Your recipes have helped my culinary skills shine on several holiday feast, and this venison barbacoa recipe is no different. In fact, this is the best tasting venison I have made to date. The only venison I have ever liked on the same level was the whole smoked venison ham you cooked in Texas last September. I smoked the two deer shoulders for 2 hours in a pellet smoker, then cooked for 10 hours (overnight) at 200 degrees inside the smoker in a pan soaked in the goodness as described above. I cooked overnight because our Christmas eve feast was at noon, and wanted this fresh and ready on time. We served with pasta and a salad. Tortillas and sweet buns were on hand offering a variety of ways to enjoy this delicious meat. Fantastic recipe enjoyed by all, and a new family favorite for sure. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the masses, and allowing mediocre chefs like me appear like skilled kitchen masters.
P.S. I am brining a whole deer ham as we speak in preparation of our new years feast (hoping to recreate the delicious recipe from Gator Season), Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I made this recipe tonight. It was tasty for sure and now I am wondering what you do with the left over broth. I am not one to throw anything away. Any ideas would be great. Thanks.
Corinne: I strain it and freeze it, then use it for future rounds of barbacoa over and over again.
Hank— This is a killer recipe that I’m doing for the second time now. This time I was considering throwing it on the big green egg first, maybe with some apple wood. Am I just looking to impart some smoke and bark here, before proceeding with the Dutch oven? i.e., just smoke it for a couple hours but not cook it to temp on the smoker? Thanks for this great recipe.
This was excellent on the first go and making it again this weekend. I used and will be using a few of last years moose roasts (double batch). I added a can of diced tomatoes and some red wine and Dr.Pepper to add some more sweetness to the chipotle’s. cooked low and slow on kamado joe with some cherry wood.
Any difference if I cook on low for a longer period of time vs cooking on high for 3-4 hours?
Josh: Not really.
I own your book Hank, and have three questions, 1) can this be made with roasts off the hind (I have two thawing for dinner for rifle season opener), 2) using your corned venison recipe, can you freeze after corning and before cooking?, and 3) how much head space do you want in your pot when cooking the corned venison, I did one in a pot with about 6 inches of head space and it was amazing, then did one with hardly any head space and it turned into dog treats.
Andrew: You can use hind leg roasts, but I don’t like them as much. Yes, you can freeze the corned venison. And I don’t really know about head space in the pot, but you seem to have answered it through your own experience.
Our family LOVES this recipe and have used it many times over the past few years! I want to make barbacoa tonight but will be in a time crunch. Could this be done in a pressure cooker? If so would you make any adjustments to the liquids?
Alex: I am sure it can, but I have never done it, so you will have to experiment. If it works for you, can you report back with the results? It will help me help others in your situation.
Just did this with the shoulders from a Doe I got on Monday. I’ve made it before, but yessir, you’re right, I smoked them for a few hours first this time. Oh my!
Can you use this recipe with the football roast?
Jon: Yes, but it is better with shoulder.
Cooked this slow in a diesel stove on my fishing vessel, ate, kept cooking. it got better the longer it cooked. Great use of a shoulder. I’ll never separate those muscles again. Every shoulder will be for barbacoa from now on! Thanks Hank!
Alright! I finally got this thing nailed…even with a major snafu. I am the one that didn’t read properly and added 2 cans of chipotle in adobe….I realized my mistake 2 hours in and fished them out. I slow cooked cooked it for 7 hours on high, and it’s pretty incredible. I had written earlier than mine was pretty tasteless, and I’m certain it was because I only cooked it for 3 hours. So glad I tried it again…it’s on the spicy side but damn good! Thanks again Hank!