Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Any of you ever disappointed?

Exactly...Smoker til 115-117 ish...Wrap & rest, then HOTT cast iron
Sear...

Searing it is a great idea.
I will do that on the next one. I have quite a bit of elk to eat before November.

As scientifically as we can, as artistically as we try, often as not the meat is just average. And believe it, I have overpaid for meats and had less than stellar results. I’m no chef, but am a heck of a cook and work hard at it. It’s therapy for me so I’m very tedious and careful w it. But saying that I have stepped on a frog a few times. YMMV.

You can ditch the lantern, Diogenes - we have found an honest man.

Me either. I never had much luck smoking loins of any kind. I like my loins seared and grilled rare or medium rare. Same with any other wild game chop or steak. I save my smoking for pork and poultry. I have smoked venison shoulder then finished it off tender by braising it on the smoker in a covered tin pan. That made some pretty good taco meat.

I made some Pollo Asada this year. It looked great but it was like eating a rubber chicken. I think it was the marinade that caused this. I marinaded over night and I think that was too long. Usually I only use that type of marinade for a few hours. I have made plenty of meals
That just didn't measure up to my expectations.

Yep, this is an excellent depiction of our exact situation !!!!

I am just guessing, but I figure you guys have been on the edge of your seats waiting for the outcome of my smoked loin. I think that I claimed disappointment a bit too early.

I sliced some up after it had rested and ate it with the rest of my meal. It was pretty good, but I did not hear any angels singing. I was disappointed and initiated this thread. I wrapped it back up in the foil and let it cool. Then I wrapped it more foil and threw it in the beer fridge. I forgot about it until today. Holy cow! I don't know what happened, but it has to be one of the best pieces of meat I have eaten in a long time. Moist. Tender. Smokey. Total surprise.

Thank you for all of your I put.

Anyone who does a lot of cooking screws the pooch occasionally, but if you pay attention to details it shouldn't happen often. This is a little off-topic but I have been disappointed a lot lately with dinners at our local restaurants. And it's not just the food it's the service too. It's making staying at home a good idea especially if you want a fine steak.

I have smoked a few things that did not turn out to my liking, you learn what to do and what not to do in those cases.

Especially so, if you like a couple of drinks, with your meal !!

About 1 out of 6 new meals I try fail to impress. Nothing ventured, nothing gained is how I look at it.

Every time my wife pulls a new box from the freezer to make a "homemade" dinner.....

Cooking ain't hard, but when you can mess up an On-cor Meal, just stay out of the kitchen...

No because I know how to cook.

I wouldn't expect a whole red meat loin to be good smoked.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

THIS

Me to there's a tater recipe on page 83/84 that's great ..riced... then there's a rabbit one with sour cream and mushrooms...great with squril to ..even chicken !

Too frequently.

And it seems the more flavor I expect, the more disappointed I am.
Like the OP, others often enjoy it...



A big problem is the hope that every new recipe will become
another of those special meals. So anything less than fantastic is
a disappointment.

Wish I still had my copy, pic was pulled from intranets. Lent it to some one 20+ years ago and never got it back. Not worth paying for a new copy now with the all the interwebs recipes. Still check though when going through used book stores.

I am hard on my own cooking.