If you season, cure, and smoke ground venison and pork fat, you can make venison bacon, which is sweet and smoky sheet bacon.
This recipe has been on my to-do list for a long time. People who like to hunt really like venison bacon, but I could never find a recipe for how to make it. I could only find ready-made cure mixes that I had to buy. For people like me who are proud to kill their own animals and make everything from scratch, that wasn’t okay. So I set out to create this recipe.
Venison bacon is made from ground meat instead of a whole cut of meat like pork belly in regular bacon. It is also sometimes called “formed ground bacon.” It is prepared and cooked like venison sausage, but loaded with bacon seasonings and thinly sliced.
Venison bacon is a tasty treat that every hunter looks forward to making with their harvest While you can certainly smoke venison bacon for full-blown flavor, baking it in the oven produces delicious results too. With just a few simple steps, you can learn how to bake flavorful, crispy venison bacon right in your own kitchen.
What is Venison Bacon?
Venison bacon is made from a mixture of ground venison and ground pork formed into a bacon shape and cured. Since venison is so lean pork fat is added to give it the rich fatty mouthfeel we expect from bacon. A dry cure of salts, sugars, and spices gives venison bacon its signature flavor and preservation.
The meat mixture is formed into loaf pans or slabs, cured and then smoked or baked. Sliced and fried crispy venison bacon tastes like a smoky, savory cross between bacon and smoked ham. It’s a tasty treat for hunters!
Benefits of Baking vs. Smoking Venison Bacon
While smoking impartss irresistible smoky flavor, baking venison bacon has some advantages:
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No special equipment needed – All you need is your oven. No smoker or smoke pellets required.
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Shorter cook time – Smoking can take 8+ hours while baking takes about 2-3 hours.
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Easier temperature control – Oven heat stays steady unlike a smoker’s fluctuating temp.
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Leaner end product – The oven’s dry heat renders out less fat than smoking.
Both smoking and baking make delicious venison bacon. Baking just offers a quicker, easier method with less specialized gear.
How to Bake Venison Bacon Step-By-Step
Follow these simple steps for flawless oven-baked venison bacon every time.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground venison
- 3 lbs ground pork
- Cure mix: salt, sugar, spices, and pink salt or Insta Cure #1
Instructions
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Mix meat and cure: Combine ground venison and pork in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix cure ingredients together. Add cure mix to meats and mix thoroughly until evenly incorporated.
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Form into slabs: Line a rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Divide meat mixture in half. Form each half into a flat, even slab about 1 inch thick on the lined pan.
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Cure in fridge: Wrap the slabs tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate and cure for 5-7 days. Flip slabs over once a day to cure evenly.
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Bake in oven: Unwrap cured slabs and bake in a 275°F oven until the internal temperature reaches 155°F, about 2-3 hours.
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Cool, slice, and pack: Let cool completely before slicing into strips or cubes. Vacuum seal and refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 6 months.
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Pan fry before eating: Fry venison bacon strips or cubes in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crispy, 5-6 minutes per batch.
Tips for Making Venison Bacon
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Use 70% venison to 30% pork for a good fat-to-lean ratio.
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Add spices like garlic, pepper, paprika, coriander for extra flavor.
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Bake at 275°F for even heating without over-browning.
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Monitor temperature using an instant-read thermometer. Don’t overbake.
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Let cool before slicing or venison bacon will be gummy. Chill in fridge to firm up.
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Make uniform slices using a meat slicer on the thinnest setting for even cooking.
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Fry over medium to medium-low heat to render fat slowly without scorching.
Ingredients to Boost Venison Bacon Flavor
Customize your venison bacon with these tasty mix-ins:
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Smoked paprika and chipotle powder for smoky spiciness
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Fresh rosemary, sage, or thyme leaves for earthiness
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Molasses, maple syrup, or honey for sweetness and sheen
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Bourbon, rum, apple cider, or beer for boozy notes
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Juniper berries, cloves, or star anise for warmth and complexity
Serving Ideas for Baked Venison Bacon
Baked venison bacon is deliciously versatile. Enjoy it:
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Crispy in breakfast dishes like omelets, scrambles, pancakes, and baked goods
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Chopped in hearty winter soups and stews as a savory topping
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Crumble on top of roasted Brussels sprouts or sweet potatoes
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Dice up in mac and cheese or baked beans for rich smoky flavor
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Wrap around jalapeno poppers or stuffed mushrooms before baking
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Toss into spinach salads with blue cheese and hard boiled eggs
The uses for your homemade venison bacon are practically endless!
Storing and Freezing Venison Bacon
After baking, venison bacon holds for 7-10 days sealed in the refrigerator. For longer storage, vacuum seal slices in 1 pound packets and freeze for 4-6 months. Thaw frozen venison bacon overnight in the fridge before using.
Baked venison bacon is a real treat. Follow this easy oven method to enjoy tasty homemade venison bacon anytime without specialized gear. Adjust ingredients to suit your taste, and add your favorite seasonings for personalized flavor. Frying up this venison treat for breakfast or snacking will be a hit with family and friends.
Equipment Needed for Venison Bacon
There are affiliate links in the list of things you need to make venison bacon that let you quickly and easily buy the same things I use from Amazon.
- Stick smoker—You can use a regular oven to make deer bacon, but smoking it will make it taste better. It is best to use an electric smoker for making any kind of sausage because it lets you control the temperature more precisely as you raise it gradually during the cooking process.
- Deli Slicer: Once the bacon is done smoking, you can use your chef knife to cut it into thin slices, but a deli slicer is much faster and easier to use. You can also use it to cut my smoked rump roast recipe into thin slices.
- Meat Grinder: You will need to use a meat grinder to grind your deer brains into bacon that is already formed. Read my How to Butcher a Deer tutorial for tips on how to grind deer meat.
Most likely, you don’t keep a few of the things you need for venison bacon on hand if you don’t usually make bacon or sausage.
- Curing—The meat needs to be cured because it will be cooked at very low temperatures for a long time. The cure stops dangerous bacteria from growing in the meat while it cooks, making it safe to eat. You can buy a lot of different cures. Always read the label to make sure you use the right amount.
- Dairy-Free Dry Milk Powder: You can get this at any grocery store. It is added to sausage to keep it together, keep the moisture in, and stop it from shrinking while it’s cooking.
- Brown Sugar—Smoky and sweet is the classic bacon pair. The brown sugar gives the meat a great sweetness and makes a sticky glaze on the outside. Feel free to add/substitute maple syrup as well.
- Ground Venison—I use a mix of ground venison and pork fat to make venison bacon. Somewhat less than 80% lean meat and 20% fat is a good starting point, but you can go as high as 30% fat if you want to. Make sure you don’t lose more weight than you need to, or your bacon will taste dry and lack flavor. If you had a butcher process your deer meat, you can ask them what fat ratio they used.
Does Venison Bacon Taste Like Bacon?
Venison has a distinctly different flavor than pork which will be reflected in the bacon. However, venison bacon does have the same traits as traditional bacon – wonderfully sweet, smoky, and salty!.
VENISON BACON – How to Make Deer Bacon
How do you make venison Bacon?
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. 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.
Can one eat bacon with diverticulosis?
You can eat bacon with diverticulosis, but it is not the most recommended. In a person with diverticulosis, it is recommended to consume foods with soluble fiber such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.
How long does venison Bacon take to cook?
Venison bacon is not as greasy as regular bacon. The pieces are much larger so they are easier to turn over and best of all, venison bacon only requires cooking for 6 to 8 minutes per side. It is best to fry venison bacon in a cast iron skillet using a medium heat setting. Don’t worry about adding extra fat when cooking up venison bacon.
How much fat do you put in venison Bacon?
Ground Venison – I make venison bacon with a combination of ground venison and pork fat. 80% lean meat and 20% fat is a good starting point, but you can go up to 30% fat if desired. Don’t go too much leaner than 20% fat or your bacon will taste dry and less flavorful.