How to Clean and Cook Venison TrottersSmoked Venison Trotter Bone Broth

Step 1

You can skin the top portions now, or save them for later—your choice. Preferably using a reciprocating saw, cut the legs into ⅓rds.

Step 2

Soak the bottom portions (trotters) in warm water, scrubbing the hooves with a brush, changing the water occasionally until it runs clean. Chill the hooves on paper towels for a bit to dry. Remove the hooves, and, using a freshly sharpened paring knife, make a slit in the skin and begin to articulate around the skin to help it release. Think of it like peeling a banana, if a banana were a foot.

Step 3

Peel the skin down until you can’t reveal anymore, and you’ve reached the hooves, then cut around the venison trotter to remove the peeled hide. From here, cut through some of the connective tissue separating the two parts of the hoof so you can bend them apart.

Step 4

Now get the serrated knife. Cutting on a slight bias toward the bone, cut pieces of the hoof off to remove the remaining fur around the top of each “toe” until all the fur is removed. Repeat the process with the other trotters. Once the trotters are skinned and hairless, inspect them closely for any fur, and dirt that may be stuck on the bottom of the hooves, and clean them accordingly.

Step 5

Mix the salt and water until dissolved and brine the trotters and bones in it for 4 hours, or up to overnight (you can also just sprinkle them with salt if you're in a hurry.

Step 6

Smoke the trotters and leg bones for 2 hours at 250F.

Step 7

Put the smoked trotters, leg bones in a crock pot or similar cooking vessel. Add the broth ingredients, putting the herbs on the bottom, cover completely with water by ½ inch and cook on low heat for 24 hours. It took me about 10-12 cups of water to cover my trotters.

Step 8

Cool the trotters in their liquid until you can handle them, then, using a slotted spyder or slotted spoon, fish remove the trotters and vegetables to a bowl. Remove every vegetable, herb, and bone except the hooves and discard, slipping off the connective tissue and leaving it in the bowl.

Step 9

For the hooves, take a small soup spoon and dig into the hoof itself to remove the choice “meat” inside, putting it all to one side of the bowl. Discard the cleaned hooves or save them to make Peruvian maracas. Save the stock for making soup, and save the "meat" for making trotter cromesquis, or one of the other recipes I outline here.