Venison Roast via Crock Pot

Venison. I like it- as long as it's cooked right. If it's gamey & dry- no thank you.

I took a stab at cooking a venison roast for the first time this past weekend & i was met with SUCCESS!

Not only was it fairly easy (thank you crock pot) but it tasted like way more work had been put into it. I approve. As did the husband & in-laws.

So with hunting season upon us, here's what i did:

Venison Roast via Crock Pot

You Need:
1 venison roast (1-3 lbs- i had a 2lb roast)
milk (1-2 cups- enough to cover the roast)
1 tblsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
4 cloves minced garlic
1-2 tblsp onion powder
1 apple (cored & quartered)
1/3 cup apple cider/juice
1 chicken bullion cube
1 cup water
cornstarch

Directions:

Un-tie your venison roast:

Place it in a 1 Gallon Ziplock bag & add the milk, salt, pepper, allspice & cloves (i kind of eyeballed it- but i gave you general amounts above)

Place the bag in the fridge & allow to sit & soak for at least 10 hours (or overnight)

Directions Continued:

Once you're ready to put your roast on, pull it out of the fridge, discard the milk & rinse off the roast (doesn't have to be super rinsed, just enough to get rid of the majority of the milk. The spices should stick to the meat (that's not an issue)

Set your roast aside & get your crockpot ready. I used a crock pot bag (not having to wash your crock pot is the best) and rubbed about 1 tblsp olive oil inside.

Set your roast in the bottom & toss in the apples. Add the garlic, onion powder & cider/juice:

The meat won't be covered in juice, and that's ok. This is a long & slow cooking process, so no worries about drying your meat out.

Put the lid on your crock pot & turn it on LOW.
Leave it alone for a minimum of 6 hours (so no looking, lifting the lid, poking or prodding. leave it be!)

You can check the meat in 6 hours to see how tender it is- i cooked my 2lb roast for 7 hours & it was PERFECT! likw- just perfect! 6-8 hours is the norm.

Once your roast is done- discard the apples & remove your roast to a serving platter/bowl.

Now to make the gravy: (you can do this in the crock pot or in a pan on the stove- i used a pan on the stove because of the crock pot bag & the fact that i like my gravy nice & thick & it takes way less time on the stove than in the crock pot) Take the juices from the crock pot bag & pour them into a pan. Add the 1 cup of boiling water & the bullion cube. Turn the heat on medium & stir until the cube is dissolved: (i initially tried to simply do this in a glas sbowl- ut you need the heat to thicken- so i transferred it)

Use the cornstarch (i like to mix my cornstarch with a small amount of water BEFORE addding it to the pan- no lumps!) to thicken as desired.

I tossed in a bit more salt & pepper to taste.

And now it's time to eat. I served the roast & gravy over mashed potatoes:


It was awesome. The meat was SUPER tender & moist & the gravy was a slightly apple & onion & sweet & salty. And it was perfect over mashed potatoes- so i highly suggest going with those.

This served 4 people perfectly (2 big eaters & 2 smaller eaters)

Enjoy!