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Venison Surprise

Number of Servings: 6

Dry Rub Mix

Grind in a spice grinder or a coffee bean grinder:

3 Anaheim peppers - dried
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary

Add:

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg - grated

Blend until well mixed.

This amount of dry rub will cover one medium sized roast.  If you need more rub, just grind more batches of the same proportions.

Completely coat the meat, place it in the refrigerator and allow it to set for at least an hour or longer.

Venison Surprise

Ingredients:

3 pounds of venison roast
2-4 tablespoons of canola oil
1 large onion - cubed
4 or more carrots - sliced into 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup broth, chicken or beef
1 tablespoon sugar
Mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

Sear the meat in 2-4 tablespoons of hot canola oil in your roaster or Dutch oven. Make sure that all sides of the meat are sealed (browned). Remove the meat from the pan. Add cubed onion and cook until slightly translucent. Add carrots and place the meat on the carrot/onion layer.  Add cooking liquid comprised of the soy sauce, wine, broth and sugar.
The onions and carrots should provide a platform for getting the roast off the bottom of the pan and above the liquid. You can always add a few more carrots to accomplish raising the meat above most of the liquid.
Cover and cook at 350 degrees F for one hour, check internal temperature for doneness. Tougher cuts may take up to an hour longer. If you want to add sliced mushrooms now is the time. The mushrooms will only require 15 minutes to cook.
Cook the roast to your expectation, remove it from the roaster along with most of the vegetables to a platter, slice the meat, and cover with foil.
Thicken the liquid with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in 1/4 cup of cold water. Pour the gravy over the meat and serve.

Notes and Variation:

Venison Surprise is a spicy and moist braised meat treatment for any game and is especially good for roasts that are enhanced by slow cooking .  Rub the meat with the dry spice mixture, sear it to seal the juices, and slow cook in a covered roaster or Dutch Oven.

Contributor:  John Hall, RRGC