IMO it's hard to "smoke" whole BS well w/o making it tough. I prefer to marinate or dry rub- bacon wrap- and grill over med/hi heat to brown slightly on all sides , then roast/smoke indirectly 15- 45 mins+ (depends on thickness of backstrap) on a grill w soaked woodchips for smokeflavor It is easyier/repeatable than typical smoking methods when using venison IMO. I like my deermeat med. rare to rare though. If you want real smoking it must be slow w low, moist heat (pan of liquid on the hot part of the covered grill or smoker - usually my marinade!) or it will turn tough and dryish. Hard to get it right each time for me this way. If you slice the bs it cooks faster and can get tougher before it's ready to eat if not marinaded for at least 24hrs. w some sort of tenderizer. I prefer a good Red wine for the tendering in my venison marinades. Onion, garlic,sugar or brown sug, salt,pepper, bayleaf, and other herbs, spices of choice, some olive oil makes a fine marinade for smoking all red meats.
