Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Smoking front shoulders whole

IowaBowHunter1983

Well-Known Member
Staff member
want to give it a try. (Smaller does, antelope, etc) Anyone have some advice? Temp, time, prep, etc? Low and slow im sure.
 
How are you defining the whole front shoulders?

I love the bone in shoulder, but I'm only using the shoulder blade and bones all the way down to the "elbow", I'm not including any ribs or neck or spine meat. I like to cut as much of the leg bone out as possible, but leave the blade in. This helps me get the whole thing into my cooking pot after I smoke it. I lightly smoke for about a hour then stuff it into a Dutch oven and cook at 225° for 5 or 6 hours like a normal roast. Any time I've seen someone try to smoke deer shoulder it ends up like boot leather.
 
I've done a huge hunk of a hind quarter already. Dry rubbed, smoked with hickory or apple wood chips until a little browned then wrapped if foil and cut back on the heat to about 200 and let smoke until the internal temperature was about 145 degrees. It was awesome but I messed up on a smaller roast once and left it get too hot and it turned out dry.
 
Did you leave the bone in or cut it out?

I left the bone out. Key is low and slow and a careful watch on internal temperature. If I remember correctly I think I put a pan with a little water in it underneath to catch any drippings and add moisture?
 
Last edited:
How are you defining the whole front shoulders?

I love the bone in shoulder, but I'm only using the shoulder blade and bones all the way down to the "elbow", I'm not including any ribs or neck or spine meat. I like to cut as much of the leg bone out as possible, but leave the blade in. This helps me get the whole thing into my cooking pot after I smoke it. I lightly smoke for about a hour then stuff it into a Dutch oven and cook at 225° for 5 or 6 hours like a normal roast. Any time I've seen someone try to smoke deer shoulder it ends up like boot leather.
I'm talking peeling the front shoulder off and then down to the knee. No neck. No ribs.
 
That's how I do my front shoulders. I like take the leg bones out so I can wrap that meat into the pot easily.
Do you think transferring to a roasint pan after smoker would work or is dutch oven critical?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
Do you think transferring to a roasint pan after smoker would work or is dutch oven critical?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Depends... I like the Dutch oven because it helps keep the meat from drying out. If I were to keep it in a smoker I'd smoke it a hour then wrap it in foil until almost done then unwrap it a little for the last 10-20° of internal temp
 
Depends... I like the Dutch oven because it helps keep the meat from drying out. If I were to keep it in a smoker I'd smoke it a hour then wrap it in foil until almost done then unwrap it a little for the last 10-20° of internal temp
I was thinking smoking for an hour and then into roasting pan with lid in oven. I don’t have a dutch oven.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
I was thinking smoking for an hour and then into roasting pan with lid in oven. I don’t have a dutch oven.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
A roasting pan would probably work just fine. I'm of the opinion that those ceramic Dutch ovens hold an internal temp much more consistent than about anything else. Just wish I could find a bigger one, but they're heavy as F to get out of the oven the way it is.
 
Top Bottom