This is maybe the best recipe ever for the front shoulders of deer, which can be sinewy and tough to deal with. Cooking with this method really lets nature take its course, and all that connective tissue will dissolve and the meat will be super tender. But it will still be really lean, so I add about 1/4 cup of lard, bear fat or duck fat to the shredded venison before I serve. You would use olive or vegetable oil. Of course, if you use fatty meats like beef or lamb or pork, you won't need to do this.
Prep time: PT20M
Cook time: PT180M
Total time: PT200M
Rating
4.93 stars (151 reviews)
Keywords
tacos, venison
Ingredients
2 to 3 pounds venison, (from the shoulder or legs)
2 to 4 chipotles in adobo, canned
1 red onion, (chopped)
5 garlic cloves, (chopped)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon smoked paprika ((optional))
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ cup lime juice
½ cup cider vinegar
1 quart beef or venison stock
1/4 cup lard or vegetable oil
Smoked salt ((optional))
Cilantro, (shredded cheese, sour cream, avocados and hot sauce for garnish)
Categories
Main Course
Cuisine
Mexican
Steps
Put everything in a slow cooker or Dutch oven and cook, covered, until the meat falls off the bone, which will be between 2 hours (for many domestic meats and young deer) and 6 hours if you have a very old animal. If you use a slow cooker, set it to “high.” If you use a regular pot, put it into the oven set to 300°F.
Pull all the meat from the bones and shred with forks or your fingers. Stir in the lard and as much smoked salt as you want. You want the lard or oil to coat the shreds of meat. Pour over some of the juices from the pot and put the meat in a pan for the table. Serve with tacos, in a burrito or on a bun.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 126 kcal
Carbohydrates: 8 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 9 g
Saturated Fat: 7 g
Cholesterol: 1 mg
Sodium: 1543 mg
Sugar: 2 g
Reviews
Steve D on 2026-08-15 (5 stars): Did 1kg venison steaks using the recipe liquid volumes. It was a bit lost in there. Will recycle it & do a batch of beef cheeks. Next time will halve the recipe for 1kg.
There will be a next time. It came out beautifully & the family loved it.
WeeLady on 2026-05-05 (5 stars): This recipe is Excellent! Took the advice of others, cut the cloves in half and used avocado oil instead of lard/vegetable oil. Worked perfectly. Always looking for new ways to prepare my Venison roasts, this one is a keeper!
Michelle Holliday on 2026-04-26 (5 stars): Took a chance on this and made it for my husband to eat when he returned home from a hunt a few years back thinking he’ll either be happy or be upset that I ruined his venison. He requests it every year now. It’s our favorite venison crockpot meal!!
Kai on 2026-01-29 (5 stars): This is sensational. Used the pressure cooker because I had decided to make it mid afternoon. Will definitely become a go to recipe in our house.
Thank you for sharing Hank.
Byron on 2026-01-18 (5 stars): I love this recipe and make it regularly for my young kids. Today I made it for my daughter’s 7th birthday party using a wild boar shoulder and there are no leftovers. A total crowd pleaser and I send two people the link for this recipe just since lunch! Thanks again Hank ?
Blake Knobbe on 2025-12-19 (2 stars): The cloves are very overpowering.
Tom Hallisey on 2025-10-02 (5 stars): Outstanding!
Dan Tutor on 2025-09-04 (5 stars): This is one of my all time favorite recipes. For a twist, after you shred the meat, put it back on the stove on low and cook off all the liquid until things start to caramelize.
Karl on 2025-08-11 (5 stars): Not only is this recipe FANTASTIC for tacos, the left over venison barbacoa also makes for an amazing venison and black bean soup using some of the resulting broth. This will definitely be at the top of my go-to venison recipes.
Brent on 2025-01-03 (5 stars): Great recipe, made it twice now. Thought definitely cut the cloves in half!!! My second attempt I did so and the flavors were so much better balanced!! Way better!! I also didn’t use the tallow. If you use bone in shanks just cut the bone at the joints and the marrow will melt out and do the same thing.
Marsha on 2024-10-09 (5 stars): I substituted the canned peppers for dried ancho and guajillo 5 each, but it turned out so delicious! Thanks
Bryan on 2024-10-07 (5 stars): Great idea about using the strained broth. Just made this again and was sipping some and thinking this tastes great. Will definitely use it next time. Reducing it sounds even better. This old Slovak hates to waste food!