Would this beef recipe work for venison?

[hunt_gather]

I have had excellent results with Bradley's peppercorn beef tenderloin recipe:

http://www.north-america.bradleysmoker.com/recipe/smoked-beef-tenderloin-recipe/

It's super easy and super delicious.


Today I am wondering if it would work well on venison.  I have some backstrap portions that I could easily smoke to 140F and I think they'd be good, though obviously not as tender as the beef.  Is my suspicion correct?

But the straps are small and of course greatly valued for other uses so I'd like to try a venison top round or sirloin tip.   Would they just be too tough at 140F after 1.5-2 hours, or could this work?

[ragweed]

Sounds good to me and I don't even know what Armagnac is!!  LOL  But I'm gonna find out  ;)

As to the toughness of the round or sirloin, I think it depends on the deer.  I just cooked a loin from an old doe and it was melt in your mouth tender.  Rubbed with garlic OO and Jan's.  I pulled it at just over 130* F 'cause last time at 140* F was too done for me, barely pink in the middle.  This turned out a little past medium rare.

So I'd say "go for it".  Even if it's a little chewy, the flavor from that recipe should be awesome!!

Let us know how it turns out!

[hunt_gather]

Armangac is a French brandy.  I use cheap cognac instead and it works just fine.

To clarify, when you say you cooked that loin, you mean in the Bradley, correct?  What wood did you use?

[ragweed]

Yes, cooked in my OBS.  Set at 220* F, tho didn't recover to that temp after the initial drop until almost time to pull it.  Took 1 1/2 hours to reach an IT of 130 - 135* F.  Hickory.  Only 1 1/4 lbs but was in with some baby back ribs.