Venison Bacon

4.88 from 33 votes

Venison bacon is a sweet and smoky formed bacon made with a mixture of ground venison and pork fat which is seasoned, cured, and smoked.

Prep Time5

Cook Time7

Total Time7 5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 376kcal

7 pounds ground venison
3 pound pork fat (ground)
2 cup non fat dry milk powder
2 cup water
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons smoked paprika
5 teaspoons black pepper
6 tablespoons kosher salt
Pink Cure (use recommended amount per package instructions - typically 2 teaspoon per 10 lbs of meat)
wood chips for smoking (such as apple wood)

Add milk powder, cure, and all seasonings to a dish and mix with water.
Add ground venison and pork to a large bowl and pour water & seasoning mixture over the meat. Mix thoroughly to combine.
Line multiple baking pans or disposable baking tins with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and press meat mixture evenly into each pan so it is 2 inches thick. Cover meat and set in the refrigerator overnight.
The following morning remove meat from the pan and let rest while you start the smoker.
Preheat smoker to 130 degrees and add wood chips.
Place formed bacon on smoker racks and increase the smoker temperature 10 degrees every hour until the smoker reaches 180 degrees. The bacon is done when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
Remove bacon from the smoker, let cool, then thinly slice. The bacon is fully cooked and can be enjoyed as-is, or fried in a skillet like traditional bacon.

This recipe calls for 30% fat, but you will still get good results with 20% fat as well if that is what you have on hand.

IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE check out all of my Venison Recipes as well!