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    Home » Meat and Game

    Smoked Venison Shanks

    Published: Mar 27, 2020 Modified: Nov 30, 2023 Author: Alan Bergo

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    Do you grind up your venison shanks? Feed them to the dog? Wonder what could ever make them taste good? After you try my smoked venison shanks recipe it might become your new favorite way to cook this underused cut of game meat.

    Smoked venison shank recipe
    A beautiful smoked venison shank. I like to smoke them and freeze, then I pull them out as needed for cooking in soups and stews.

    Cure, Smoke, and Freeze for later 

    The basic idea is this: right after I butcher an animal, I'll take different parts that benefit from slow cooking like shanks, chunks of shoulder, or bones, and season them with salt for "un-cured" shanks or toss them in a plastic bucket filled with ham brine outside—I'm in Minnesota and Wisconsin, so our falls our very cool and it's very safe.

    The version that's pictured in this post is a cured version that you can cook like a ham bone. After curing in a brine with sugar, spices and sodium nitrate (pink salt), the shanks go in the smoker for a couple hours to par cook them, then I vacuum seal and freeze. When I want smoked shanks to cook with, all I have to do is take them out of the freezer, just like a smoked ham hock, but venison.

    Smoked venison charcuterie trotter-shank terrine en aspic
    A good example of how I might use cured shanks is in my smoked venison shank and trotter terrine, it's similar to headcheese.

    Shanks can be tender, and delicious

    Some of you might be thinking: "Sure Alan, you eat all the boot-leather tough deer meat you want--but it's not for me". Trust me here, after a cure, smoke, and a slow braise, you won't recognize the end product. The cure is the really special part.

    The sugar and salts in the cure denature the meat in a way, the same way it does ham and corned beef, turning it from boot leather tough, to delicious, rich, gelatinous gold.

    Smoked venison shanks recipe
    Smoked shanks these are made without prague powder and sugar, using only a dry or wet brine. Note the stretched tissue/fascia here, which I'll trim off with a knife before the final cooking since it's less tender. 

    There will be a little picking apart and removing of tendons, etc, after it's braised and cooked, but no more than something like a chuck roast. Also, know that I'm not going to eat the whole shank here glazed like a Renaissance festival turkey leg--it's for cooking wet, in broth, soup, stew, etc, and afterwords I'm always going to be dicing or slicing it up.  

    Smoked venison shank recipe
    Smoked venison shanks cured with sugar, salt, and prague powder should be used more like you would a ham bone. This is a large shank designed to be pretty. If you want a more manageable size, cut the bone with an oscillating saw.

    It may sound like extra work, during butchery time, and it is, but it's easier doing large amounts of stuff like that in batches than one at a time, and it saves me from having to fire up the smoker in the winter.

    Whenever I want a big bowl of smokey broth, a pot of beans, or whatever else, all I have to do is reach in the freezer and pull out one of my smoked golden nuggets. If you want to see an example of how I use the shanks specifically, see my smoked venison shank ramen.

    Smoked venison shank glazed with birch syrup recipe
    An example of using "un-cured" shanks is my Smoked Venison Shanks Glazed with Birch Syrup and Nocino. See that recipe here.

    Two ways to smoke, endless possibilities 

    Cured

    Cured shanks are made by immersing cut shanks in a brine, or rubbing with a cure like you would bacon. Both dry and wet methods will take at least five days of soaking/curing for the cure to penetrate.

    Shanks cooked like this will have a texture after cooking similar to ham and corned beef, and they're great used to flavor a pot of bean soup, cabbage, or cut into pieces and used anywhere ham or corned beef would be welcome. 

    Uncured 

    If you want to eat a whole shank, this is what you want. Uncured is what I call shanks smoked without using prague powder (sodium nitrate) and sugar. An uncured shank can be dry or wet brined, and involves nothing more than brining a shank by immersing it in salt brine (wet) or seasoning heavily with salt (dry) and allowing it to rest for a few hours before cooking.

    When I cook shanks like this, since they're not as highly seasoned and "hammy" like the other, more heavily cured shanks, they're better for serving whole as an entree like smoked osso bucco, or a simple braised venison shank. 

    Smoked venison shanks osso bucco
    Shanks cut down to a manageable size with a reciprocating saw means they'll fit easier in a pot, and on a plate. These have been salted and lightly smoked, but not cured.

    Cutting shanks into manageable sizes

    No doubt about it, femurs are tough bones, and they're long, making it difficult to fit them into freezer bags, crock pots, or baking dishes. for easier storage, cut your shanks with a reciprocating saw (Sawsall) while you're butchering. The cut femur bones are great seasoned and smoked along with the shanks. Afterword you can add them to stocks and soups. Can you say smoked venison shank bone-ham and bean soup? I can. 

    One-handed cordless saw

    My favorite reciprocating saw for butchery is this small, cordless, one-handed model. 

    Un-painted meat blades 

    You'll also want special, un-painted meat blades for cutting bones. 

    Removing the fascia 

    Stretched fascia on a smoked venison shank
    See the stretched tissue here? I'll remove that before reheating the shank to eat whole.

    One big question is whether you should remove the fascia, or tissue you can see stretched over the meat on the picture of the shank trimmed with an oscillating saw above, can be tricky. This stuff is chewy, and as it's notoriously difficult to remove while the shanks are fresh, I remove it after cooking when the shanks are soft and pliable. 

    Smoked venison shank ramen recipe
    Smoked venison shank ramen--one example of a great soup you could make with your shanks.
    Smoked venison shank recipe
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 8 votes

    Smoked Venison Shanks

    Smoked shanks are delicious, easy project to do at home. You can add the smoked shanks to soups and stews, or braise them and serve whole.
    Prep Time20 minutes mins
    Cook Time3 hours hrs
    Brining Time3 days d
    Total Time3 days d 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
    Course: Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Shanks, Venison
    Servings: 4 Servings
    Calories: 565kcal
    Author: Alan Bergo
    Cost: 10

    Equipment

    • 1 Smoker
    • 1 gallon stock pot

    Ingredients

    • 1-2 venison shanks either hind or foreshanks

    For the brine

    • 3 quarts water
    • 260 grams salt roughly 1 cup + 2 tablespoons
    • 1 oz pink curing salt sodium nitrite
    • 3 Tablespoons pickling spice
    • 2 cups dark brown sugar
    • 1 large yellow onion sliced
    • 3 dried bay leaves
    • 1 bulb garlic halved horizontally

    Instructions

    • Combine the ingredients for the brine and bring to a simmer in a stock pot. After the mix boils, chill completely, then immerse the venison shanks in the brine and weight it down in a large plastic container.
    • If no containers are large enough to hold the ham, a stock pot will work. Keep theshanks in the brine for 3 days, then remove.
    • To cook, smoked the shank at 225 Fahrenheit or so for 3 hours, then cool and refrigerate or freeze for later.

    Video

    Notes

    The brine here is all-purpose--throw whatever meat you want into it, give it a couple days, and it'll be transformed. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 5oz | Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 111g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 557mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 164mg | Iron: 5mg
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kyle

      November 04, 2023 at 1:22 pm

      Planning on trying this recipe with a 5 pound, bone in, Caribou front quarter. Would the quantities in this recipe suffice or would you recommend doubling/tripling the ingredients?

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        November 04, 2023 at 1:33 pm

        Hey Kyle this is enough liquid to cure that much meat, but it will also depend on how you're storing it. A two gallon zip loc would work. You can also try putting 3 quarts of liquid over the meat in the container you'll keep it in, and use that as your benchmark. If you need 6 quarts to cover it, you'd need to double the recipe. Let me know if that makes sense.

        Reply
        • Kyle

          November 04, 2023 at 2:44 pm

          5 stars
          Makes sense, thanks for the prompt response!

          Reply
          • Alan Bergo

            November 04, 2023 at 2:51 pm

            You bet, as long as the meat is totally covered you'll get even distribution of the brine. Also, there's a way to do it without liquid too I use sometimes if I'm short on space for containers filled with liquid. If you want to take a look at that, use my recipe for venison bacon cure, and just rub the meat with it. It will take at least 7 days to cure 5 lbs, and you'll want to rinse it before smoking. You can keep it in a zip loc in the fridge and it's a little easier to manage as there's less liquid.

            Reply
    2. Jack Ditlove

      April 28, 2023 at 9:48 am

      5 stars
      I'm the hunting group butcher and am always being asked for recipes. Have not tried this type. Love using the smoker and this really looks like a great way.
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        April 28, 2023 at 1:46 pm

        Thanks Jack, I've been using it for years. You can use it for other cuts off the deer (shoulder) too.

        Reply
    3. Tony

      December 21, 2021 at 8:48 am

      5 stars
      I can’t wait to try this next season. Question, if I don’t have time or resources when hunting could I butcher the deer, freeze the shanks, then thaw and smoke them all prior to refreezing again? I like the idea of doing a large batch to use as required, but hunt out of state for white tail. There’s no way I could do this where I hunt. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        December 21, 2021 at 2:49 pm

        Absolutely you can do that Tony, I do it often. Cured, cooked meat freezes very well.

        Reply
      • Jim

        October 25, 2023 at 6:11 pm

        5 stars
        Tried this today ( well, I used your recipe as a rating point. I did add more garlic, my powdered Habanero and my Chipotle to the rub), and I had the leg corning for a full week, until I had a chance make this Pastram-bi. Bambi Pastrami.
        I WILL make it again!
        This was absolutely delicious.

        Reply
        • Alan Bergo

          October 26, 2023 at 12:09 pm

          Hey Jim, thanks. Glad it worked for you, love the additions, there's all kinds of ways you can play with the brine.

          Reply
    4. Patrick

      October 28, 2020 at 4:50 pm

      What kind of chips you use for the smoker?

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        October 29, 2020 at 11:29 am

        Hickory, but use your favorite.

        Reply
    5. Scott Poborsky

      September 20, 2020 at 2:55 pm

      What do you base your quantity of pink curing salt on? I'm giving this a shot but with a couple deer roasts instead of shanks. Do I need to adjust the curing salt? I haven't used pink curing salt before and don't want to over do it.

      Also, do you have a conversion from pink curing salt to Mortons tender quick?

      Thank you.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        September 20, 2020 at 3:01 pm

        It's based on tried and true recipes I used to serve to the public at my restaurants. Many of us used to use Charcuterie by Michael Rhulman as a guide for pink salt in cures, but I usually decrease the amount a bit. This should be a pared down version of the cure I use to make ham. Most of it gets dissolved in water, and thats a good way to consume less of it, if you're worried about that. It's a good, all purpose brine cure.

        Reply
        • Scott Poborsky

          September 20, 2020 at 3:38 pm

          Thank you for the quick response. Got another question for you. What if I leave the curing salt out completely? The hams I'm making will be consumed the day I smoke them.

          Reply
          • Alan Bergo

            September 20, 2020 at 3:40 pm

            You sure can, but, remember that curing salt is part of the reason ham, jerky, and any meat that's pink after it's cooked tastes as good as it does. FWIW, celery salt and other "substitutes" are the exact same compounds, they just occur naturally. I had a line cook who used to make brisket with celery juice. If you do omit the pinky, don't expect to have the same sort of wow factor, but it will still be ok.

            Reply
            • Scott Poborsky

              September 20, 2020 at 3:47 pm

              Ok. Thank you for the assistance and advice. I'll comment on here on how it went.

            • Scott Poborsky

              September 28, 2020 at 1:30 pm

              5 stars
              The hams turned out fantastic and had a great flavor. Everyone enjoyed them, including a couple people who don't care for venison. I smoked them to an internal temp of 180 using hickory. I will be using this again.

            • Alan Bergo

              September 28, 2020 at 5:30 pm

              Great. The brine trick for game will serve you well.

    6. Ole Valderhaug

      July 08, 2020 at 2:06 am

      5 stars
      This looks great! Got a couple of shanks in the freezer that ill be trying this weekend, what internal temperature would you be aiming for during the smoking?

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        July 08, 2020 at 7:10 am

        Not internal temperature, you're cooking the shanks until the meat moves freely and they're tender. But, these aren't something that I'll just eat right off the bone, I prefer to smoke the shanks and simmer in liquid to help make sure nothing dries out, afterwords, remove the shanks, pick the meat (or chill and dice it) then reheat and eat.

        Reply
    5 from 8 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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