Dutch Oven Venison
Submitted by kartim
Venison shoulder roast soaked overnight in milk to tame the gamey flavor, then braised in a Dutch oven with tomatoes, red wine, juniper berries, and a bouquet garni. Fork-tender wild game at its finest.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
2 hrsREADY
3 hrsGot a venison shoulder in the freezer from hunting season? This is how you turn it into something truly memorable.
The overnight milk soak draws out the strong, gamey flavors that can put people off wild game, leaving you with mild, tender meat ready to absorb a world of flavor.
After a good sear in seasoned flour, the roast braises low and slow in a rich sauce of tomatoes, dry red wine, onions, green pepper, and garlic.
A cheesecloth bouquet garni packed with juniper berries, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, and parsley infuses the braising liquid with a woodsy, aromatic depth that was made for venison.
Kitchen Tips
- The milk soak is the key step. Don’t skip it. Overnight in whole milk pulls out blood and gamey compounds, leaving mild, clean-tasting meat.
- Brown the roast well on all sides. That flour crust builds a flavorful fond in the pot that becomes the base of your sauce.
- Use a cheesecloth bag for the spices so you can pull them out easily before serving. Biting into a whole clove or peppercorn is no fun.
- Baste several times during braising to keep the top of the roast moist and build layers of concentrated flavor on the surface.
Ingredients
Directions
Marinate meat overnight in whole milk.
Discard marinade. Pat dry.
Roll roast in seasoned flour and brown in hot cooking oil in Dutch oven.
When brown on all sides, remove the roast from the pot.
In the same pan, sauté the onion, green pepper, and garlic over moderate heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add tomatoes, sugar, wine, and thyme to the Dutch oven and heat.
Place the parsley, cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaves on a piece of double-thickness cheese cloth, and tie with a string into a bag.
Add the bag to pot.
When the mixture is boiling, add the browned roast and baste with sauce.
Cover and cook at 350℉ (180℃). for about 2½ hours, until tender.
Baste several times with pan juices during the roasting, slice thinly, and serve with pan juices.
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