Now that deer hunting season is over, I hope many of you have landed your buck. Now, I am not a hunter myself. I do, however, like to cook and eat venison. Of course, my favorite, like many, is venison sausage. But, there is so much more you can do with the meat. Here are two ways that I like to cook venison.
This is a great way to use a venison roast without grounding it up into sausage meat. This is a two day event. I feel the key to this roast is the marinade. It flavors the meat while tenderizing it. You can speed this up if you want by raising the heat, just make sure that you check it and add stock if needed, to prevent the stock from evaporating out.
Venison Pot Roast
1 3-5 pound Venison Roast 1 tablespoon Black Pepper 1 tablespoon White Pepper 1 tablespoon Pink Peppercorns 3/4 cup Italian Dressing 1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar 1/4 cup Honey 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce 1 tablespoon Hot Sauce 1 tablespoon Granulated Garlic 1 1/2 teaspoons Dry Mustard 2 tablespoons Salt 4 to 5 cups Beef Stock 1 Onion, chopped 1 Bell Pepper, chopped 1 stalk Celery, chopped 2 Potatoes, cut in half and sliced 1 bag Baby Carrots
Combine venison, black & white peppers, peppercorns, Italian dressing, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic, mustard and salt in a large nonreactive container or zip-lock bag and marinate overnight in refrigerator. Remove venison from marinade, place in a large skillet over high heat, and brown on all sides. Set aside. Add stock, roast and remaining ingredients to a Dutch oven. Cover and simmer over low heat until the meat is tender, about 8 hours. Served sliced with vegetables for the pot.
Sauce Piquante is a classic Cajun preparation. You can make this as spicy or as mild as you like. This recipe contained no extra pepper or hot sauce. My suggestion is to serve with a bottle of hot sauce on the table. That way, everyone can spice up their plate as much as they want.
Venison Sauce Piquant
1 cup Peanut Oil 1 cup All-purpose Flour 6 cups Beef Stock 2 cups Onion, chopped 1 cup Bell Pepper, chopped 1 cup Celery, chopped 5 cloves Garlic, chopped 1 6 ounce can Tomato Paste 1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning, plus more to taste 3-4 pounds Venison, diced small 1 cup Red Wine 1 28 ounce can Crushed Tomatoes 4 Bay Leaves
In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Stir in the flour, then turn the heat down to medium. Cook this roux, stirring often, until it turns the color of dark chocolate, about 15-20 minutes. Once the roux turns the color of peanut butter, you will need to stir it almost constantly to prevent it from burning. While roux is cooking, heat beef stock in another pot until boiling. Hold it at a simmer for now. When the roux is ready, add the onion, bell pepper and celery and stir to combine, Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until everything is soft, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, Creole seasoning and tomato paste and stir to combine. Cook this, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes. Mix in the venison, then add the red wine, the can of crushed tomatoes and hot beef stock, stirring as you add. Add the bay leaves and bring this to a a gentle simmer. Let this simmer very gently until the meat is tender, about 3 hours or more.When the sauce piquant is ready, re-season with Creole seasoning, if necessary. Serve over cook white rice,
Until next years hunt, enjoy your venison..
