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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 we had like 4 years worth of mule deer football roasts accumulated in our freezer before we found this recipe, well, became HAGC’ers. Lemme tell ya we caught up quick. This is so easy and so damn good. We went from not knowing what to do with a roast, to wishing our deer had more roasts to cut.
This is a really good recipe. I used an elk roast for the first time, followed it as stated, and it is really good! Thanks Hank
Chef Hank,
Superb recipe!!! I smoked my elk (bull calf from road salvage) front leg/shank for about 90 minutes too with mesquite before braising the next day. For the lard I used hard smoked rendered bacon fat left over from morning breakfast. Added the liquid too at the end. Brought this in to the local wine bar for some friends. This recipe was a hit with everyone that night. Paired with a number of different wines too. Probably my wife’s all-time favorite venison recipe. Thank you!!!
A friend of ours gave us a bunch of venison. Goofy question, I know, but the meat was given to us frozen… do I need to thaw it first or can I put the frozen meat in the slow cooker and let it go from there?
Korin: I would thaw it first.
New to venison cooking. How do I smoke venison for barbacoa? Thanks
Janie: Salt it and throw it in the smoker. If you read the post I give you the details.
Hello Hank,
Quick question for you… I am knew to cooking venison as I have two teenage deer hunters! I was excited to try this for dinner tonight until I realized I completely forgot to add the chipotle peppers in adobo! I have never cooked with this ingredient but have the sneaky feeling it is a key ingredient. Can I shamefully add this into the shredded venison?? Thanks!
April: Just skip it for now, and add heat as you like it in the finished dish, with hot sauce or something.
Made this with a Pronghorn shoulder yesterday and I have to say this is absolutely delicious on a Kings Hawaiian roll. I think I could eat it every day and not get sick of it. Cooked in a pressure cooker for 1.5 hrs. and the meat shredded beautifully.
This stuff right here is where it is at! Threw some cilantro and diced onions on the tacos and it was perfect.
I will eat this so much that it will eventually gag me when I smell it!
Be careful with the tallow – I used grass fed tallow at the end and the flavor completely overpowered everything else. It tasted great before I put it in – I think next time I’ll use a more mild fat or skip it all together.
Made this tonight with a whitetail shoulder. Delicious. The whole family loved it…rare to get approval from both teens on anything. Only change made was dialing back the clove a bit.
Tried it with a neck roast and made tacos with it – amazing! So tender and moist that I didn’t even need to add the oil/lard at the end. It’s better than chipotle barbacoa for sure.
Awesome dinner!!
Very spicy but in a good way. Chalk up another to Hank!
Super simple. Incredibly delicious. Truly a go to in our house.
One of the best venison recipes I’ve ever tried. It seems to get better each time we make it. Shoulders are now considered prime cuts.
This has become one of our favorite meals!!! I’ve made it too many times to count now. Absolutely delicious!!
Good Lord, Chef!
salt brined overnight, smoked for 4 hrs, braised for 3+ and “smack-yo-momma-in-the-face good!” is an understatement.
i used a whole venison neck and a top sirloin roast and followed the recipe exact.
bravo, Hank and thanks!
– aaron
I made the cans/vs individual peppers mistake when I made this years ago. Basically the atmosphere in your kitchen becomes like pepper spray.
Hello Hank,
I am planning on cooking this recipe for a game feed I am having this weekend and I am getting hung up on the Chiles in adobo canned ingredient. I may be overthinking it, but with your note in the description I wanted to make sure to get it right. Do you have a specific brand of peppers in adobo to look for? All I am finding online right now is La Costena Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce in a can, is that what I need to get? I plan on going to the latin market in my town, but wanted to make sure I get the right ingredient. I have a full venison neck and a full front shoulder in the freezer, depending on final headcount, I may decide to go with the neck roast over the front shoulder! Any other tips on cooking it would be much appreciated, it seems relatively simple!
Dylan: They’re all about the same. the La Costena will be fine. I really like smoking the meat for a few hours before braising it.
Would an elk neck roast work well here considering all the marrow/connective tissue?
Jonathan: Absolutely. I prefer neck roast.