Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Venison front shoulder roast with bone question

So front shoulder roast with bone from a nice deer I took in '07. It got stuck under this past fall's 2nd turkey and I forgot all about it.

I plan to cook it in the oven with some potatoes and onions and maybe carrots.

looking for cooking time and temp suggestions so it doesn't get over-done. It might be slightly frozen still by cooking time, I just found it this morning.

Its probably a 2.5 lb'er, not huge, but definitely a good size for the missus and myself.

Is it too big to fit in a pressure cooker? If you are oven cooking it I'd shoot for an internal temp of 220 F..low and slow Try to get it close to room temp before cooking. It might be just me, but it seems meat comes out more tender when I let it acclimate to room temp prior to cooking. The trick is going to be preserving what little moisture there is. I'd injection it with apple juice and cajun butter or whatever suits your fancy. Toss the veggies in during the last hour or hour and a half.

Roasts, Steaks & Chops


Rare
120 to 125 degrees F
center is bright red, pinkish toward the exterior portion

Medium Rare
130 to 135 degrees F
center is very pink, slightly brown toward the exterior portion

Medium
140 to 145 degrees F
center is light pink, outer portion is brown

Medium Well
150 to 155 degrees F
not pink

Well Done
160 degrees F and above
steak is uniformly brown throughout



Ground Meat



160 to 165 degrees F



no longer pink but uniformly brown throughout


Use your thermometer. If it were me, I would marinade the shoulder for a few hours to overnight, then I would grill it (or roast in oven uncovered at high heat 400*) to internal temp of 125. Let it rest and let juices redistribute for at least 20 minutes. The temp will contiue to rise another 5-10 degrees. I eat all my venison steaks and roasts rare to medium rare. Juicy, tender and flavorful. I have had little to no luck cooking venison to well done except in soups or burgers.

Just one more opinion.

257, I read venison but thought pork. Total brain fart.

I usually bone out the shoulder now, but I have made lots of shoulder roasts. I use one of those oblong rosters like grandma always used. I just did it like a pot roast. Add a can of cream of celery soup, a few potatoes, carrots and a onion and your in. Put it in the oven on 325 for an hour and a half. Tasty.....

BlueDuck, I usually bone out the shoulder as well. But I won a raffle for free deer processing that year, and it came bone included...eh I can work with it.

257wby, thanks for the oven temps. I usually grill just about everything I eat (meat-wise anyway), but have had a hankering to try and bake a roast for a while now. I figured a chunk of older meat is a prime candidate for the trial...

Janos-- I bone front shoulders all out trying to make the chunks of meat as big as I can. Place them all together and tie them with butchers twine. Garlic ,rosemary, salt pepper, , apple cider, onions ,parsnips,carrots, taters, two packages of brown dry gravy mix. Place all in large crockpot .Add Apple cider or cranberry juice to cover. Set on high , cover and forget for about 10 -12 hours. Very simple and easy to make. Usually comes out very tender. Add a little Cider vinegar --Web

This is my favorite venison roast. I would season it up good with onion soup mix (probably a couple of packs), toss it in an oven roasting bag with some carrots, potatoes, onions a little garlic, bay leaf or two, green peppers, mushrooms or what ever else you want to add (may want to add the more tender vegies an hour into the cook), plus a little water and maybe a little white whine. Cook at 350 for a few hours till meat begins to fall off bone. The meat will litterally be dripping juicy and so tender it pulles apart. Won't hardly have any wild or strong venison taste. And just serve the juices as the gravy. I promise you, it's the "bomb". I think cook time runs around 2.5-3.5 hours.