• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

FORAGER | CHEF

Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

  • Home
  • About
  • Mushrooms
    • Mushroom Archive
    • Posts by Species
      • Other Mushrooms
        • Lobster Mushrooms
        • Huitlacoche
        • Shrimp of the Woods
        • Truffles
        • Morels
        • Shaggy Mane
        • Hericium
        • Puffball
      • Polypores
        • Hen of the Woods
        • Dryad Saddle
        • Chicken of The Woods
        • Cauliflowers
        • Ischnoderma
        • Beefsteak
      • Chanterelles
        • Black Trumpet
        • Hedgehogs
        • Yellowfeet
      • Gilled
        • Matsutake
        • Honey Mushrooms
        • Russula / Lactarius
          • Candy Caps
          • Saffron Milkcap
          • Indigo Milkcap
      • Boletes
        • Porcini
        • Leccinum
        • Slippery Jacks
    • Recipes
      • Fresh
      • Dried
      • Preserves
    • The Basics
  • Plants
    • Plant Archive
    • Leafy Green Recipes
      • Leafy Green Plant Varieties
    • Ramps and Onions
    • Wild Herbs and Spices
      • Spruce and Conifers
      • Pollen
      • Prickly Ash
      • Bergamot / Wild Oregano
      • Spicebush
      • Golpar / Cow Parsnip
      • Wild Carraway
    • Wild Fruit
      • Wild Plums
      • Highbush Cranberry
      • Wild Grapes
      • Rowanberries
      • Wild Cherries
      • Aronia
      • Nannyberry
      • Wild Blueberries
    • From The Garden
    • Nuts, Roots, Tubers and Grains
    • Stalks and Shoots
  • Meat
    • Four-Legged Animals
      • Venison
      • Small Game
    • Poultry
    • Fish/Seafood
    • Offal and Organ Meat Recipes
    • Charcuterie
  • Recipes
    • Pickles, Preserves, Etc
    • Fermentation
    • Condiments
    • Appetizers
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Side Dishes
    • Entrees
    • Baking
    • Sweets
  • Video
    • Field, Forest Feast (The Wild Harvest)
    • Foraging Videos
    • Lamb and Goat Series
    • YouTube Tutorials
  • Press
    • Podcasts / Interviews
  • Work
    • Public Speaking
    • Charity and Private Dinners
    • Forays / Classes / Demos

How to Cook Venison Ribs

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
cooked venison or deer ribs with antlers on a board

Smoked venison ribs. note that they’re a manageable size, similar to pork ribs. To get them like that, you’ll have to cut them yourself.

There’s a lot of overlooked cuts on a deer, but ribs are probably one of the most commonly left on the carcass or tossed into the coyote pile. It’s a shame, since they can be great if they’re prepped right, but I also understand why a lot of people don’t harvest and cook venison ribs. 

1.Cut ribs to a size you can eat 

Harvesting the ribs from deer isn’t as easy or clean like fileting off a backstrap. You need to have a saw on hand, and with either a hand saw and a sawzall or reciprocating saw (my preference) it’s still a challenge to cut nice looking, clean cuts, especially if you’re processing your deer alone, as many people still do, including myself more often than not. 

cutting venison ribs with a cleaver

If you have to, use a cleaver to cut the strips of ribs into easy to eat sizes.

cutting venison or deer ribs into pieces

Separate the ribs.

The exact size you cut your deer ribs can be a matter of personal preference, but I will say that just cooking the whole rack like a caveman is sloppy, and is pretty much guaranteed to turn off diners of a more delicate palate, say, a significant other who you may be trying to turn to the wild side, for example. With venison ribs, good things come in small, or at least modest packages. 

2.Trim them *really* well

Secondly, venison ribs are generally very lean as far as meat goes, but they have plenty of fat on them, and, unless you like the taste of deer chapstick, or are looking for food that will instantly put you to sleep, you’re going to want to trim them, meticulously. 

trimming the fat from deer or venison ribs before cooking

Ribs before trimming.

 

 

 

 

Years of restaurant work (and more importantly diner feedback) taught me a few things. With lamb ribs, there’s generally more meat on them but even then, there’s a large vein of fat that runs through them that I prefer to trim off.

Diners liked the look of big, bountiful lamb ribs, but when the plates came back, there were always piles of fat and trim that went untouched. Eventually I got the idea to just trim the heck out of them, and it made all the difference. Deer ribs are the same. 

trimming the fat from deer or venison ribs before cooking

Ribs after trimming. Look at all that fat! 

The tricky part though, is that for the best tasting deer ribs, you know, the type where you could sit down and eat an entire rack, you need to trim the ribs of fat really, really well.

After trimming, the racks of ribs you end up with won’t really resemble the meaty, chunky pork ribs most people think of when they think ribs. What you get, rather, are ribs that honestly look a little measly, or wimpy, and you might find yourself wondering “where’s the meat on these things?!”. Patience is a virtue though, and the small amount of meat that’s left in between the bones is worth it’s weight in gold. Trust me. 

3.Remove the membrane (optional) 

The other, slightly less-important thing to mention about preparing venison ribs for cooking is the membrane on the side of the ribs that houses the organs. Venison, pork, lamb, beef–whatever ribs you cook will have the membrane, and, for the most professional result, you’ll want to remove it.

Removing the membrane from venison or deer ribs

Slip a knife underneath the membrane.

Removing the membrane from venison or deer ribs

Pull it off and discard.

It’s not that hard, slip a paring knife under it to loosen it and from there most of it can simply be peeled off with your hands. That being said, many people don’t mind the membrane, and, most people won’t notice if you can’t get them 100% clean. Just something to consider. 

4.Use a combo of wet and dry cooking 

Lastly, cooking. After trimming the ribs to an inch of their life, you’re going to be left with some lean ribs–really lean. Lean enough that if you’re not keeping an eye on them, it can be easy for them to dry out. With that in mind, I recommend a slightly different approach to cooking them than pork or lamb ribs, which I generally cook all the way on the smoker.

There’s a number of ways you can ensure juicy, tender venison ribs, but here’s one of the easiest ways I do it: take the ribs, cut them into small racks about 3-4 bones a piece, then season them up with whatever your poison is (I like my friend Chef Mike Germans 14 Spice, but my blackening spice here would be great too) and let them sit for 12-24 hours in the fridge.

If you don’t have time, you can cook them right away, but, the flavor will be much better if you let them sit and dry brine for a bit if you can–even just a couple hours can make a big difference. 

a rack of venison or deer ribs on a baking sheet

Depending on where you cut them from, some ribs may be more meaty than others. These didn’t need tons of trimming.

Next, put your ribs on a cookie sheet with a lip on it to prevent drips, top with a piece of parchment, add a splash of water to the pan (1/2 cup for a standard cookie sheet) wrap in foil, and bake at 250 for 1 hour. Next, remove the ribs, and smoke for another 1.5 hours at 250, or until the meat just barely gives from the bones.

5.Try not to over cook them 

I don’t like my ribs falling off the bone, and, if you were to enter ribs in a barbecue challenge, you’d get docked point for sloppy, fall-off-the bone ribs. You should have to barely work to pull the meat off.

If you have a way to keep ribs moist while cooking, say by putting a steam tray full of water in the smoker, that can work too, and you wouldn’t have to par-cook them in the oven. Like I said, there’s a number of ways to baby the ribs while they cook.

Venison Ribs with wild plum glaze

Brown the ribs in a pan if you think you’d like to remove a little more fat. Cooking them in a pan also means you can toss them in sauce and glaze them.

cooked venison or deer ribs with antlers on a board
Print Recipe
No ratings yet

How to cook venison ribs

A walk-through of how I cook venison ribs
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time2 hrs
Dry brining12 hrs
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Venison, Venison ribs

Ingredients

  • Venison ribs as needed
  • Seasonings, like your favorite dry rub, or just salt and pepper

Instructions

Cut the ribs into manageable sections

  • Using a saw, cut the ribs off the deer into 5-6 inch wide racks. If you took the ribs off in large pieces, you may need to whack them with a cleaver as pictured.
    cutting venison ribs with a cleaver
  • trimming the fat from deer or venison ribs before cooking

Trim the fat

  • Using a trusty paring knife, trim as much fat as you can from the top of the ribs.
    trimming the fat from deer or venison ribs before cooking

Remove the membrane (optional)

  • Slide the end of a paring knife under the membrane on the underside of the ribs, then pull off and discard the membrane.
    Removing the membrane from venison or deer ribs

Par Cook and Smoke *(See note)

  • Season the ribs with your preferred seasoning (a like a good dry rub) then refrigerate overnight or at least for a few hours.
    a rack of venison or deer ribs on a baking sheet
  • Preheat an oven to 250F. Put the ribs on a cookie sheet or tray with a lip to catch liquid, top them with parchment, add 1/2 cup water to the pan, cover tightly with foil (you want them to steam) and bake for 1 hour. Remove the ribs and smoke for 1.5 hours at 250F, or until the meat barely gives from the bone.
  • Serve the ribs as-is, or, trim thick ones into single bones, and saute slowly to render out more fat.

Notes

 *If you don't have a smoker, you can cook the ribs all the way in the oven, uncovering them for the last hour to lightly brown them (or turn up the heat a bit).

cooked venison ribs on a board with antlers in the background

Related

Previous Post: « Smoked Venison Neck Chili
Next Post: Maple Candy Cap Butter »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

2022 James Beard Nominee

beard award

Subscribe (It’s free)

ORDER THE BOOK

UPDATED OPTIONS FOR CA / EU / US the forager chefs book of flora by Chef Alan Bergo

Forager Chef

Forager Chef

Footer

Instagram

foragerchef

FORAGER | CHEF®
🍄🌱🍖
Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
2022 James Beard Nominee
Host: Field Forest Feast 👇
streaming on @tastemade

Alan Bergo
Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each instead of the pound. 

Good day today, although my Twin Cities spots seem a full two weeks behind from the late spring. 2 hours south they were almost all mature. 

76 for me and 152 for the group. Check your spots, and good luck! 

#morels #murkels #mollymoochers #drylandfish #spongemushroom #theprecious
The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natu The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natural secretion of water I typically see with plants. 

I understand it as an indicator that the mushrooms are growing rapidly, and a byproduct of their metabolism speeding up. If you have some clarifications, chime in. 

Most people know it from Hydnellum 
peckii-another polypore. I’ve never seen it on pheasant backs before.

Morels are coming soon too. Mine were 1 inch tall yesterday in the Twin Cities. 

#guttation #mushroomhunting #cerioporussquamosus #pheasantback #naturesbeauty
Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a grocery store. 

#groceryshopping #sochan #rudbeckialaciniata #foraging
Italian wild food traditions are some of my favori Italian wild food traditions are some of my favorite. 

Case in point: preboggion, a mixture of wild plants, that, depending on the reference, should be made with 5-23 individual plants. 

Here’s a few mixtures I’ve made this spring, along with a reference from the Oxford companion to Italian food. 

The mixture should include some bitter greens (typically assorted asters) but the most important plant is probably borage. 

Making your own version is a good excercise. Here they’re wilted with garlic and oil, but there’s a bunch of traditional recipes the mixture is used in. 

Can you believe this got cut from my book?!

#preboggion #preboggiun #foraging #traditionalfoods
Oh the things I get in the mail. This is my kind Oh the things I get in the mail. 

This is my kind of tip though: a handmade buckskin bag with a note and a handful of bleached snapping turtle claws. 😁😂 

Sent in by Leslie, a reader. 

Smells like woodsmoke and the cat quickly claimed it as her new bed. 

#buckskin #mailsurprise #turtleclaws #thisimylife #cathouse
Bluebell season. Destined for a Ligurian ravioli Bluebell season. 

Destined for a Ligurian ravioli as a replacement for the traditional borage greens. 

#mertensiavirginica #virginiabluebells #spring #foraging
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Privacy

  • Privacy Policy

Affiliate Disclosure

 I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchases help keep this website free and help with the many costs involved with this site as it has continued to grow over the years. 

Copyright © 2022 ·