Has one of your hunter friends gifted you with deer meat? How to cook it? What vegetable should you serve with it? What wine to pair? Terry Pomerantz offers his recipe.
Roasted Deer: A Brief History
Roasting game meat followed the discovery of fire around 750,000 B.C. Back then, roasting was the only way to cook meat. In the XVIIth century, Jesuits who were on a mission in Quebec noticed that First Nations were cooking game meat in plates made of tree bark, that they would place over hot stones.
With a few thousand years of experience under its belt, humanity has acquired in-depth know-how when it comes to roasting game meat. During migrations, men and women from every continent exchanged “recipes”.
“We have acquired experience over thousands of years and from every different culture”, adds Terry Pomerantz, while preparing the ingredients he will use for his roast deer.
Which part of the deer meat should you choose?
The best parts of the deer for a roast are the haunch and the shoulder.
Nutritional values for wild deer meat
Chefs and nutritionists agree that wild venison is much more nutritious and healthy than game meat you would get from rearing.
In fact, the more the animal moves around and eats a variety of different foods, the higher the protein content in the meat and the lower in fat. This is also why wild deer meat is a lot leaner that meat from farming.
The woody flavors you get in wild venison is due to the animal’s eating habits which consist of leaves, different grasses, herbs, ferns, mushrooms and small fruits.
Roast deer recipe: Terry’s choice
Here is Terry Pomerantz’ recipe that was inspired by his mom’s “tricks” in the kitchen and the numerous recipe books he loves to read, and online recipes as well.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs of deboned deer shoulder
- Steak spices
- 5 lbs of sliced potatoes
- 5 lbs of red onion
- 5 cups of beef broth
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of pepper
- Demi-glace sauce
Preparation
- Poor the beef broth in a pot
- Add potatoes and onions
- Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes
- Transfer to a roasting pan
- Oil the deer meat and cover with steak spices
- Place the venison in the roasting pan
- Cook in the oven at 350 o for two hours
- Thicken sauce if needed
Service
Cut the roast deer into thin slices. Serve with potatoes and onions that cooked with the roast deer. You can serve with rapini sprinkled with lemon juice, butter and a few drops of white wine.
To pair with his roast deer recipe, Terry Pomerantz suggests a dry red wine like a Californian Prisoner, a Nuits-Saint-Georges Burgundy or a Saint-Émilion Bordeau.
Terry Pomerantz, passionate about good food, shares with you his gastronomic favorites, tips and recipes, turning every meal into a memorable experience. Explore his culinary universe and discover the delights he suggests to tantalize your taste buds.