Venison Neck Roast
Wearing a Flannel While Consuming is Recommended but Not Required
The next ‘low and slow’ dish (click here for Venison Osso Bucco and here for Smoked Venison Meatloaf) on the list is one that, let’s face it, sounds kind of gross. Maybe it’s because you never see a neck roast at a restaurant, a grocery store, or anywhere for that matter. When butchering your deer, you basically keep skinning all the way up to the base of a deer’s skull instead of stopping at the top of the shoulders. You then take a saw and simply cut off the neck and remove the esophagus from the bottom of the roast. If you butcher your own deer and don’t keep the neck, you are missing out on anywhere from 1-3 roasts depending on the size of the deer and the time of year you shot the deer.
Let me be clear about what I mean by the time of year you shot the deer. A 2-year-old doe will have a significantly smaller neck than a 2-year-old buck in most cases. While this is completely anecdotal, I have also found that a 2-year-old buck shot in the first week of November will have more meat than a 2-year-old buck shot in mid-October. While this may be simply due to the fact that one buck is genetically bigger than another buck, I will usually get one extra 3 pound neck roast off of a ‘roided out rutting buck.
As you can imagine, the neck muscle of a rutting buck might very well be the toughest cut on the neck. As I mentioned, you can have an extra 5-10 pounds of good roast meat if you are willing to put in a little bit of work and a lot of slow cooker time. Between the savory taste and the satisfaction of knowing I am using all of the meat the deer gave to me, it has become one of my favorite meals.
At the end of this recipe is an optional pan sauce, which requires you to make a roux. For those unfamiliar with the term, using a roux is basically a way to thicken any liquid the correct (read: French) way. The key is to keep the sauce thin enough while cooking that it thickens to just the right consistency once cooled. I’ve made pan sauces that have a consistency anywhere between a stout beer and peanut butter. I’ll be honest, it takes a few practice runs to make a quality roux, but it is completely worth the effort. Not only do you get to make delicious pan sauces from the most flavorful parts of a recipe, but you also get to see the impressed look in your spouse’s eye when you casually get to use the word ‘roux’. Rolling her eyes means she’s impressed, right?
Cook time – 8 hours (prep time 20 minutes)
Ingredients:
1 3-5 pound venison neck roast, bone in.
Salt and pepper to taste
2 TBSP garlic
1 onion, ½ diced and ½ largely chopped
1 cup of baby carrots
4 chopped potatoes
48 oz of beef broth, depending on size of crock pot
1 bottle of dry red wine (I prefer a Cabernet Sauvignon)
Optional Pan Sauce
1 stick of butter
1 cup of flour
Recipe
Heat cast iron skillet to high heat and add a pad of butter
Ensure your roast is completely trimmed of fat and pat dry
Season with salt, pepper and rub with garlic
Add roast and diced onions to the skillet; save remaining onions for the crock pot
Brown all sides of the roast (3-5 minutes per side) while stirring the onions
Add the following to the crock pot: roast, carrots, chopped onion, potatoes, 1/3 bottle of red wine, and enough beef broth to come half way up your roast.
Set crock pot for 7 hours on low.
Once roast is done cooking, use tongs to remove the bones.
Serve with pan sauce and remainder of red wine
Optional Pan Sauce
Without cleaning out the cast iron, scrape up as much of the browned meat and onions as possible.
Heat the stick of butter on medium-low heat until melted but not bubbling.
Quickly stir in a cup of red wine.
Slowly sprinkle flour over the mixture, stirring as you add. You may not use the entire amount of flour. Add more wine if mixture is too thick.
Increase heat so mixture is simmering. Stir frequently, almost continuously. You want to simmer out some of the water but not burn the sauce. You do not want the mixture to be thick at this point because it will thicken as it cools.
Once the mixture drips slowly off your spoon, remove the sauce from pan and either serve if roast is done or refrigerate.