Fat Boy Premium All Purpose Rub
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp Fat Boy Apple Cider Honey Mustard
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
fresh sage to taste
Pan Gravy
¼ cup butter
1 tsp fresh sage leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup flour
½ cup white wine
½ cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Special order your crown roast from your butcher and have it trimmed or if you are confident in your skills trim it yourself. Form the ribs into a crown roast and tie off with cooking twine to keep the shape.
Prep your smoker for 225 F. It is best to also have a water pan in your smoker for this cook to keep the pork from getting dry. Depending on your smoker use pecan pellets, pecan chips or pecan wood chunks.
Season your pork with a healthy dose of Fat Boy Premium All Purpose and allow the pork to rest at room temperature, covered, for one hour.
When the smoker is heated, mix the minced garlic, Fat Boy Apple Cider Honey Mustard, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and a dash of black pepper in a small bowl. Brush the mixture all over the pork.
Place a digital thermometer along one section of the pork, making sure to not press against the bone, as this will lead to a false reading. Place the crown roast in the smoker and smoke until the roast reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.
Next we will want to finish the roast at a higher temperature to give it additional texture. We recommend a reverse sear technique using a charcoal grill at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. You may also increase the temperature in your pellet grill or drum smoker. You may also sear on a gas grill, however this is not our first choice.
Meanwhile, make the pan gravy. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs of the butter and add any reserved drippings from the resting crown roast. Fry the sage until crispy. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the remaining butter and melt. Sift the flour over the melted butter and mix to combine, cooking about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in the wine, making sure the flour doesn’t lump. Add in the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, whisking constantly, and allow to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add in the fresh minced parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Place the crown roast on a serving platter and garnish with fresh sage. Slice at each rib bone and serve, removing any cooking twine as needed. Serve the pan gravy on the side.
32 oz of Velvetta® or similar cheese 1/4 cup milk 1 1/2 tsp Denny’s Bacon Salt 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp Trail Blazer Wing & Hot Sauce or Louisiana-style hot sauce 1 can canned tomatoes with chilies (such as Rotel) 1 lb of cooked and chopped bacon 4 green onions
Cube cheese and add milk. Microwave until it can be easily stirred – approximately 2.5 minutes on high. Add Denny’s Bacon Salt, garlic powder, Trail Blazer Wing & Hot Sauce and tomatoes/chili mix. Microwave approximately another 2 minutes. Stir in cooked bacon and chopped green onions.
4 cups water 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning 1 Tablespoon Premium All Purpose Rub 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved 6 slices bacon 1/2 cup shallots black pepper, for seasoning
Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until very crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Turn off heat and transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve the pan with the bacon fat. Allow bacon to cool, and then chop into small pieces. In a medium-sized pot, add water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring the water to a boil. Add Brussels sprouts and cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until tender. Immediately drain the Brussels sprouts and shake to remove the excess water. Turn heat to medium-high on the pan with the bacon fat drippings. Add the shallots and sauté for 2 minutes, until tender, stirring occasionally. Push the shallots to the side of the pan, and add the Brussels sprouts and the Premium All Purpose. Cook for about 5 minutes, searing each side of the Brussels sprouts until lightly brown. Turn off heat and season with salt and pepper. Add the bacon to the pan and stir to combine.
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts 1 cup Fat Boy Chipotle Sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce ¼ cup honey ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon ground cumin ¼ teaspoon black pepper
In a blender or food processor combine Fat Boy Chipotle sauce, cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, honey, salt, garlic powder, cumin, and black pepper and blend until smooth.
Preheat grill to medium high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken and add to the grill. Baste the chicken generously, turn over after about 2 minutes and baste again. Cook until the chicken is 165 degrees and no longer pink in the center. Baste one last time before serving.
Let’s talk beef ribs. Nothing beats beef shorties on the smoker. The flavor is fantastic and they are pretty much beef popsicles. With beef baby backs you are left trying to scrape some meat off of somewhere. Not the case with short ribs. Those meaty marbled bad boys are custom made to stay flavorful and juicy on the smoker. When you smoke these hunks of bovine awesome you need to show a little love, TLC and patience. Your finished product should get to about 200 internal temperature like brisket.
Lay ribs on a cookie sheet or foil pan. This keeps things clean and they will be ready to carry to the smoker when you are done
Do a decent trimming job, but don’t put half of your meat in the junk pile. Trim off the silver skin. You can trim some of the outside fat if you wish, but don’t go overboard Leave as fat equals flavor. Pro tip- Use a very sharp knife and use paper towels to get a good grip on the rib while trimming. Also if smoking as a rack leave the membrane on these. Unlike pork ribs they need the membrane to stay together.
Rub both sides of ribs lightly with olive oil to help your rub stick to the meat.
Let ribs sit until the look wet. This lets you know the rub has begun to penetrate the meat.
Prep Your Smoker:
We don’t care if you burn sticks, pellets or charcoal. We have done these in uprights, drums, pellet grills, you name it. Set up your cooker to maintain about 225. We recommend pecan, hickory, or mesquite wood for this cook. Make sure to follow the directions for whatever smoker you decide to use and make sure to pre-heat before putting the ribs on for at least 30 minutes.
Two Ways to Smoke:
The natural smoke is just to let them go until they reach about 190 internal temperature which will take around 5 hours depending on your ribs. Start checking for tenderness. When a fork or probe slices in like butter on a hot day you are home. The ribs should be at around 200 when this happens. Some also like to use a water pan during this method to help regulate temp and keep the ribs juicy.
The foil pan method is also used by a lot of folks. Smoke the ribs to an internal temperature of about 160. At this point pull them from the smoker, place them in a foil pan, add a cup of beef broth and seal the pan with foil. Put them back on the smoker for about 2 hours until the internal temperature reaches about 200.
For both methods make sure to use a quality temperature probe to monitor both the meat and the grill temperature. These allow you to monitor from a distance such as the couch, garage or anywhere else in your house you may have beer located. When finished and the internal temp is about 200 and you like the texture then pull from the smoker and let them rest for a few minutes. This allows the juices to be sucked back into the meat. After resting plate, serve and enjoy bovine bliss.
So you bought your first or maybe your fifth packer brisket. You look at it and say now what? Brisket is one of the hardest things for backyard pit masters to smoke. It’s tough, fatty and shaped weird so it cooks uneven. The secret to a great brisket happens way before you fire up your pit and slap it down. The secret is in the trim. Due to the shape and fat content in the different parts of the meat it can be too dry, too fatty and burnt on one end unless you trim it right. My first one was horrible. opened it, seasoned it and put it on the smoker. When it was time to pull the thing it looked like road kill. Hopefully some of our trimming advice can help you avoid the same mistakes that we have made and let’s face it with the price of brisket these days nobody can afford to ruin one.
A whole brisket has two main parts they are the point and the flat. Both parts need to be trimmed right so they will cook right. The steps below are a good start. I don’t claim to be the reincarnation of Arthur Bryant, but these steps have helped me get better.
Get out a good sharp curved knife and start on the underside of the brisket. Look at the point which is the thicker fatty part and the flat which is… well… the flat part and see that the edges kind of taper in a few spots. Take your knife and square off those spots to make it a little more uniform around the edges. This will keep them from drying out or burning while the rest of the brisket cooks. Remember to start small and start slow. You can always trim more off, but if you have to glue some back on it ruins the taste of your brisket and might kill you.
Once you are squared up it’s time to get rid of the deckle. It’s the big half moon piece of fat near the point. It’s way too thick to render out so it’s best to just get rid of it. Put your fingers under the fat and gently pull it up to get your knife in. This is where we insert our important safety tip. Don’t put your fingers and your knife in the same spot at the same time. It hurts a lot and messes up your whole day. Trim the deckle off even with the rest of your brisket so it’s nice and smooth. Lastly do a thin trim on any silver membrane left on your brisket.
Next flip that hunk of meat over and start in on the fat cap. You need some of this to render into the meat and keep it moist and add flavor, but if you leave too much your rub won’t penetrate and you won’t get that bark that everyone is shooting for. I always say about a good quarter inch does the trick, but some go all the way to a half inch. The trick is once you decide how much to leave keep it uniform all over the top of the meat. This is also where you knife needs to be good and sharp so it doesn’t look like you trimmed it with an axe. Once everything is uniform you should be ready to season, smoke and eat. Well maybe not ready to eat yet since you still have several hours of cooking ahead of you. Cook it in whatever rig you prefer. Could be anything from a $3000 pellet rig to a $75 home made ugly drum. Times and techniques vary depending on your equipment and I never want tell somebody else how to run their rig so crack a beer and do your thing and smoke on.
So you got that buck of a lifetime, or maybe like the rest of us you only got a couple of freezer does and considered yourself lucky. We would love it you used all of the venison to make jerky, snack sticks or brats with Fat Boy Game Seasonings, but we know there is a lot more that you can do with your venison. Here are a few tested recipes that are sure to please.
Crock Pot Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
¼ pound bacon
2 pounds ground venison
1 large yellow onion chopped
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 TBSP ground cumin
1 TSP chili powder
2 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 cup ketchup
salt and pepper to taste
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove from skillet, crumble and set aside. Brown meat in bacon grease for flavor.
Put onion, sugar, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, garlic, mustard, ketchup, salt and pepper in slow cooker and mix well. Add bacon and venison and stir together.
Cook for a minimum of 8 hours on Low setting. Use a fork to separate the meat into a thick and yummy Sloppy Joe-style barbecue.
Grilled Venison Backstraps
Marinated twice and covered in bacon, yes we said bacon, these grilled backstraps are a sure pleaser. Sweet smoky and good.
Place chunks of venison into a shallow baking dish, and pour enough apple cider in to cover them. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove, and pat dry. Discard apple cider, and return venison to the dish. Pour barbeque sauce over the chunks, cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 more hours.
Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Charcoal is best, but if you must, use gas. Remove meat from the refrigerator, and let stand for 30 minutes, or until no longer chilled. Wrap each chunk of venison in a slice of bacon, and secure with toothpicks.
Brush the grill grate with olive oil when hot, and place venison pieces on the grill so they are not touching. The bacon will kick up some flames, so be ready. Grill, turning occasionally, until the bacon becomes slightly burnt, 15 to 20 minutes. The slower, the better. Dig in, and prepare to want more!
Venison Meat Loaf
Who doesn’t like a good meatloaf? This one has a little kick to it. You can dial back the spice if your taste buds dictate.
Ingredients
1pound ground venison
1 TBS brown sugar
8 saltines
1 beaten egg
½ TSP spicy brown mustard
¼ TSP dried cilantro
½ TSP garlic powder
½ TSP dried minced onion
¼ TSP thyme
1 dash cinnamon
1 dash paprika
3 TBS ketchup
1 TBS brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Mix together venison, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, crackers, and egg in a bowl. Season with mustard, cilantro, garlic powder, onion flakes, thyme, cinnamon, and paprika; mix well. Pat mixture into a 9×9-inch pan, or a loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 40 minutes. Stir together the ketchup, with 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Spread on top of the meatloaf, and place back in the oven for 10 minutes more.
Bacon Wrapped Venison Tenderloin in Garlic Cream Sauce
Every hunter knows about the tenderloin. It’s like the prime rib of venison. This recipe is for the hidden sophisticate in us all. You know the one who wears his dress camo for a Friday night date.
Ingredients
6 pieces thick sliced bacon
2-3 ponds of venison tenderloin
2 TSP olive oil divided
¼ TSP onion powder divided
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBS buter
8 ounces of sliced mushrooms
2 chopped cloves of garlic
2 TBS copped green onion
½ cup heave whipping cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Place bacon on a slotted baking pan.
Bake bacon in the preheated oven until partially cooked but still flexible, 6 to 8 minutes.
Brush venison tenderloins with olive oil and season with onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Place tenderloin roasts side by side and wrap them together in strips of partially cooked bacon. Place into a roasting pan.
Roast until bacon is browned and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a tenderloin reads at least 145 degrees F (65 degrees C), about 1 hour.
Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir mushrooms and garlic in hot butter until mushrooms are soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir green onion into mushroom mixture; pour in cream. Cook, stirring often, until sauce is heated through. Serve sauce with tenderloins.
Any of these time tested recipes are sure to satisfy, but you may want to make sure you have enough venison to make them all. To be on the safe side we would suggest a few more days in the woods and maybe another freezer doe. Who knows that buck of a lifetime may just decide to walk by. Of course if you have a bow he will be at 90 yards and if you have a gun he will stay just off of your hunting property. On the bright side a bad day hunting beats a good day at work any time.
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/4 medium red onion, sliced
1/2 cup Copperhead Sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
8 slices bread
8 slices thick cut pepper jack cheese
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add in chicken and onion. Cook until chicken is warmed and onion is soft. Stir in Copperhead and cilantro. Set aside. Heat griddle to medium heat. Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Place one slice of cheese on non-buttered side. Spoon 1/2 cup of chicken mixture on top. Place another piece of cheese on top of chicken. Top with another slice of bread with the buttered side out. Cook sandwiches over medium heat 3-4 minutes each side or until golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Clean each potato and slice into 1/8-inch slices. In a bowl, toss the potato slices on the baking sheets with Denny’s Natural Bacon Salt. Arrange potato slices on the baking sheets. Bake for 18 minutes or until done.
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 green onions sliced
3/4 cup frozen or fresh carrots
3/4 cup frozen peas
2 eggs cooked and chopped
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 Tbsp Fat Boy Teriyaki Rub
3 1/2 cups cooked white rice
1 cup chopped cooked chicken, pork or shrimp (optional)
Heat oil in a wok or pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, green onions, carrots & peas; cook until softened. Add rice (and protein if using) and continue to cook until rice slightly crisped and brown. Don’t stir too much, you do want to get a little bit of caramelization. Add teriyaki rub to soy sauce. Add in cooked egg, soy sauce mixture, and sesame oil to rice. Heat and enjoy.
