Just last week, the Legendary Whitetails office crew devoured one of the best homemade venison meals we’ve ever experienced. You’re probably thinking it was a cut of backstrap stuffed with cheesy goodness, or bits of tenderloin and jalapeno wrapped in bacon, or something like that . . . while those are certainly savory in their own right, this meal was completely different.
Sparked by the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day celebration, we saw it necessary to make an ode to the Irish with a “Corned Venison” themed video. Truth be told, the traditional corned beef and cabbage meal isn’t really Irish at all (google it yourself), but that didn’t stop us. Heck, the rest of the world serves massive amounts of corned beef on March 17th, so we might as well too. The only difference is our freezer is full of venison, not beef.
Reuben rolls made with corned venison, melted swiss, and sauerkraut.
Originally, the idea of corning our own venison for a Reuben roll recipe seemed like a lot of work. The longevity of the process (letting it brine for five whole days) really clouded just how easy it actually is to make corned venison. Don’t let the 4-7 day wait deter you from tasting this awesome wild game experience.
How to Make the Brine for Corned Venison
Like we just said, this recipe is really quite simple both in terms of the ingredient list and execution. The ingredients are as follows:
- 2 cups water
- 6 tablespoons Morton® Tender Quick®
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 1/2 teaspoons pickling spice
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 6 cups cold water
- 3 – 5 pound boneless venison roast
Here are the ingredients used in the brine for corned venison.
One quick note on choosing the right venison roast to be corned. You can really use any cut of venison, but the larger roasts from the hind quarters are most ideal. Consider using the top or bottom round roasts, or the sirloin tip roast. Save your backstrap for the grill.
Once you have the ingredients in hand it’s time to start making the brine.
Step 1:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Stir in the curing mixture (Morton Tender Quick), brown sugar, pickling spice, and garlic powder; stir until dissolved then remove from the heat.
Preparing the brine.
Step 2:
Pour 6 cups of cold water into a 2-gallon container, and stir in the spice mixture you just boiled. Place the boneless venison into the brine, cover, and refrigerate. Leave the venison in the refrigerator to brine for 4-7 days, turning the meat over every day.
Venison roast sitting in cold water before the brining agents were added.
Step 3:
Rinse the meat well, then place into a slow cooker, and cover with water. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours.
Rinse the meat after before cooking
Place roast in slow cooker, cover with water, and cook on low for 7 hours
Step 4:
Remove the venison from the crock pot, and allow to rest for 30 minutes before slicing.
Slicing the corned venison roast
That’s it! After you whip up the brine, you basically set it and forget it. Once you slow cook it, you’re free to enjoy the corned venison roast any way you’d like. We chose to make Reuben rolls, which were beyond delicious! You can find the full recipe and video here or see it below. You could also make Reuben sandwiches, baked Reubens (like a Pastrami melt), corned venison hash, or eat it the traditional Patty’s Day way with cabbage! If you’re not familiar with our fast-paced wild game recipe videos you should check them out here.
