Venison Fillet with Juniper and Gin
The tender venison fillet is refined with an aromatic juniper-gin rub and hot-smoked at low temperature to preserve the delicate meat structure. The gin amplifies the natural juniper aromatics, lending the meat an elegant, slightly resinous-floral note. Alder wood provides a fine, neutral smoky aroma.
Ingredients(for 1 kg)
Instructions
Dry Curing
4 hoursMix salt, juniper, pepper, rosemary, and lemon zest. Rub the cleaned venison fillet evenly all around, place on a rack, and dry-cure uncovered in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Tempering & Smoker Preparation
45 minutesAllow the fillet to temper at room temperature 30 minutes before smoking. Preheat smoker to 90-100 °C and add alder wood chips together with a few juniper twigs.
Basting & Smoking
2-3 hoursLightly brush the fillet with gin and place in the smoker. Smoke at 90-100 °C until a core temperature of 58-62 °C is reached. Baste once with gin halfway through.
Resting & Serving
10 minutesRemove the fillet from the smoker, loosely wrap in aluminum foil, and rest for 10 minutes. Slice into finger-thick medallions and serve immediately.
Pro Tip
Venison fillet is very lean – a core temperature of 58-62 °C (medium-rare to medium) preserves juiciness. Never cook above 65 °C or it will become dry.
Save this recipe to your smoking journal?
With Curination you can scale recipes, track projects, document by voice and browse over 1,269 recipes.