a "wild" weekend

Wild Game.... that is!

A co-worker of Bradley's loaded us up with venison and wild hog. The venison steaks were awesome and so were the wild hog chops. Then we had this venison roast. I have never cooked venison, or as us southern folk call it..... DEER. I searched the Internet and people just don't post "venison pot roast" recipes, look for yourself! But now I know why.... because I made up my own "recipe" but I still don't have a list of measured ingredients for you, so let's play a little game. We shall call this.... DeLa's How To.

Today I will be guiding you through a crash course on teaching yourself how to cook a deer roast.

First git cher man ta shoot cha up a 12 pointah and skint it and gut it up real purdy like and take em down ta dolla brathas ta chopim up.

Now that I've got that out of my system.....


Put your roast in a loaf pan, because that is what it fits in best, and think really hard about what you have to marinade it in.


Deer is not known for being the most tender cut of meat.... and what do we know fixes tough meat?? Buttermilk!!!


So just go ahead and give it a nice "wilber" bath in the buttermilk. Let it sit for about an hour, flipping it over every 5 or 10 minutes and spooning the buttermilk on top.

This will free you up for a while. So lets use this time to chop up some veggies to roast along side the meat.


Lets see, we've got big carrots, idaho potatoes and onions. What ever you like to roast, really! Mushrooms would be a nice addition, maybe some leeks, sweet potatoes... the possibilities are endless. Just make sure that it is something everyone likes.

Once the roast is finished marinating and the veggies are chopped, you must pick a theme for the spices. You know, stuff that goes together. You could do it up south of the border style... lil cumin, lil chili powder, maybe baste it in beer. Nah, it is too cold outside to do that. Next idea. Cajun style.... some creole seasoning, whip up some dirty rice as a side dish. No.... this is harder than you think.

Enter your husband at stage right.... he is going on a rampage about why you are going to cook the roast in the oven and not in the crock pot. You mind is running with new and inventive ideas about what to throw at him when suddenly.... ah ha! You kiss his forehead and shout "mama mia! youa just gave me ze perfect idea!!" We are going to do this roast Italian Style, because he loves Italian food!

Rinse your roast and pull of what little fat is attached to it. Then take your roasting pan and put the rack in and place the roast on the rack and salt and pepper it. Press freshly grated Parmesan cheese into the top and sides, make sure it is really stuck. Use as much as you like!


Now you wrap it in bacon. Quick question.... Do you know why you should cook deer wrapped in bacon? Because deer is so lean, there isn't anything to make the meat juicy. If you wrap it in bacon then the grease has no choice but to run into the crevices and down the sides and just make it all juicy and delectable!


In keeping with the Italian theme, you go to pick the spices. Basil, garlic and oregano will be perfect! For the meat, let's use garlic powder, then we will sprinkle minced garlic atop the veggies. Put a bay leaf in each corner of the pan, just because I like to use them in pretty much everything these days.


Now for the gravy. Take one packet of Au Jus Gravy mix. Why, you ask? Because that's how mama did it.


Don't read the directions on the back - just listen to me. Wow, Bradley is starting to rub off on me! Mix the powder with two cups of boiling water until it looks like this:


Now, pour it into the pan, BUT don't pour it over the meat! You don't want to wash off all the good spices!

Now, place your veggies in the pan. Make sure it looks like too many because they shrink up. Just trust me. Besides, they're good for you so you can eat a lot of them. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Then mince up some garlic and sprinkle that on top, too. No I don't have measurements.... it was hard to measure it because you just want to be sure that all the veggies have a little bit of each spice on it. Then grate some more Parmesan to put on the veggies... just for good measure!


Oh man, does that look good?! Preheat the oven to 350*. Tightly cover the whole thing with foil and roast for about an hour and a half. Then uncover it and roast for 30 to 45 minutes. This is for a 2-3 pound roast. Adjust your times accordingly. Deer is a little dry anyway so you definitely don't want to overcook it!

Remove it from the oven, give it a chance to cool and let the juices redistribute. Pour that wonderful gravy into a gravy boat, you can add some flour if you like it to be thicker.


Mmm, doesn't that look good? It kinda shrunk up a little! But that's ok because we made extra veggies, remember?? So.... get to cutting!


Yum!!!! Now look at your pan and drool over how great the veggies look!!


Serve it up with leftover dressing that you couldn't write down the directions to if your life depended on it.... seriously I just pour each spice (about 10 different ones) into my hand until I think it is enough and then drop in into boiling chicken stock and then pour it over crumbled biscuits and cornbread and bake until.... it looks done. Haha, somewhere my mom's head is about to explode! But my secret is to use celery salt, garlic powder and onion powder instead of actually dicing up those vegetables because Bradley doesn't like to bite into a big piece of anything in his dressing. The things I do for him ;) But that is a totally different post!!

Now just sit back and wait on your husband to tell you that he was wrong and never expects you to cook a roast in a crock pot again!! And soak in the comments from your loving brother in law who has always been so sweet to you!