Beer Braised Venison Roast
How To Cook A Venison Roast So It Doesn't Taste Gamey
We often run into people who aren't a fan of deer meat. And, while everyone is entitled to their own preferences, we often find that these people have had an unfortunate run-in with some poorly cooked venison.
This one experience often sits firmly in their mind as something that needs not be repeated.
The thing is, venison is a different kind of meat that needs a little extra care in the kitchen.
Venison is lean. Deer don't have the marbling that cattle do, so cooking it like beef isn't going to work too well.
Choosing A Cooking Method For Venison
The cooking method for venison really depends on the cut you are using.
- Tenderloins and loins - Quickly sear or grill to 130F and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
- Shoulders and roasts - Braise low and slow (around 130F) for several hours.
How To Tenderize Venison
In addition to choosing the right cooking method, it's a good idea to add ingredients to your rub or marinade that will tenderize your venison.
Salt in rubs helps to break down proteins and improve the texture of the venison.
When marinating, you can use any number of acidic ingredients to help tenderize the meat while infusing it with flavor.
Vinegar or alcohol are two of our favorites. (Like this recipe for Red Wine Braised Venison.)
Our Beer Braised Venison Roast Recipe
In this beer braised venison roast recipe we're combining low and slow braising with the acidity of beer to achieve some stellar results.
We slow simmer this venison roast recipe for 3 hours, and the result is tender, fall-apart meat.
The beer and other seasonings infuse the meat with the caramely flavors, a slight tartness from the mustard, and just the perfect hint of sweet from the tomato paste and brown sugar.
We love the way that the mustard and beer in this recipe give the finished venison roast a distinctly German aroma and flavor.
It would be a perfect, hearty recipe to serve along side of your favorite Oktoberfest beer!
This is the perfect, hearty meal for spending hours at the table, catching up with family and enjoying the company.
And, did I mention, it makes the house smell AMAZING!
If you don't have access to venison, don't worry. This dish is just as tasty if you use a beef chuck roast!
Other Venison Recipes
If you have some venison in your freezer that you're looking to use up, here are some other delicious recipes using venison:
- Chicken fried venison steak
- Red wine braised venison roast
- Venison steak Marsala
- Juniper crusted venison tenderloin
- Cranberry glazed meatballs using ground venison
- Venison jerky using ground venison
And we have lots more venison recipes too!
Beer Braised Venison Roast
Braising is the perfect technique for cooking venison roast, and this Beer Braised Venison Roast recipe brings a German flair and intense flavor that are destine to be a family favorite.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 lb venison roast, (or beef shoulder roast)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 onions,, cut in half and quartered
- 6 large potatoes, cut into 1” cubes
- 10 carrots, cut into 1” chunks
- ¼ c unbleached all-purpose flour, (plus an additional ¼ c if necessary, added at the end)
- 2 (12 oz) bottles beer, (dark lager style is best)
- 2 c vegetable or beef stock, (we prefer low sodium)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme
Instructions
- Season roast with salt and pepper. In a 2 gallon or larger Dutch oven or soup pot melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add the roast and sear on all sides over medium-high heat, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the roast from pot.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 2 tablespoon butter. Melt butter and add onions. Saute until golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots, saute 1-2 minutes. Add flour and stir until moistened.
- Stir in beer, stock, tomato paste, brown sugar, mustard powder, and thyme. Mix well. Add the roast back to pot, nestling it among the vegetables. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for 3 hours.
- Thirty minutes before serving, remove the lid from the pot. If the stew looks too brothy, place ¼ c of flour in a small bowl. Ladle ½ – ¾ c of broth from the pot into the flour and whisk until no lumps remain. Pour mixture into the stew and stir to incorporate.
- Continue to simmer, uncovered, until sauce thickens slightly.
Notes
This recipe from 2013 was updated in December 2015. We made the roast even better. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
⅛ of recipe (including sauce)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 762
This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We make it often and we have updated our pictures a couple times since we first shared it, but we've left some originals here, in case you've found us in the past and are looking for that old, familiar image.
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
I have this on the stove right now and it smells divine! I can't wait to try it when it's done.
Hope you enjoy it!
A delightful recipe that takes the dry, gamey flavor out of the venison and produces a hearty and (dare I say) stout flavored pot roast. My only problem with it was that the recipe I downloaded called for 0.08 cup unbleached all-purpose flour. I winged it around that and it turns out I was pretty close in guessing the correct amount. I am glad to see that you have updated the recipe again, since 2015, and now call for 1/4 cup of the flour (plus another 1/4 cup at the end, if necessary. I have made this dish twice: once with an American pilsner beer and once with Guiness stout. That may be an Irish beer, but it does give the dish a more robust, "German" flavor. I definitely agree with your preference for a dark beer. The only variation to the recipe I indulged in was the addition of a medium turnip, halved and quartered.
Thanks for your note Richard. We're glad you like the roast! Yes, likely the .08 cup of flour was a glitch in the recipe card display. Thanks for coming back to check for an update.
This recipe is one of the best recipes I have ever made. It transforms the venison roast into something magical. It seems to take me back to my German roots with mustardy and beer flavored gravy. I brine it in beer if I can and then add one in as its cooking. I also throw in vinegar, salt, and sugar into the brine and whatever other spices sound good at the time. Thanks for this recipe. Its a favorite for sure.
So glad you enjoy it! Thanks for sharing your tips!
Brine your roast. 1-2days. About 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup kosher salt. I added juniper, rosemary with garlic. I used 1 quart of beef broth with remaining water. Couple of dashes of Worcester sauce. Experiment. Brine for 1-2 days rinse well. Note I did this with a tenderloin and smoked it to rare.
Thanks for sharing Frank. We'll give it a try!
This is currently on my stove. Followed the recipe with one exception, I dehydrate and powder the skins, seeds, and cores from canning tomatoes, so I used that in place of the tomato paste. If it tastes half as good as it smells we are in for a treat and this will become a mainstay in our recipes.
Hope you enjoyed it!
DELICIOUS!! I changed it up a bit. I rough chopped celery, potatoes,and parsnips and sauteed in double the butter (because...butter!). I didn't have dry mustard,so I rubbed German grainy mustard onto the roast prior to sear stage,and also added some to the stock. I had to sub a bit of tomato sauce for paste. The only beer I had was PBR(lol),& I only used a pint as I like a really thick base& didn't want an excess of liquid. This will make everyone roll their eyes,but I also added a can of cream of mushroom soup. To try to get a bit back to the German flavor I added a bit of pickling spice. I threw in a bay leaf,too-because I always do! Anyway,it was really, really good. My mom's exboyfriend gifts me with venison roast,steaks,and ground meat every season and I'm definitely putting this dish into my rotation. Thanks!!
So glad you enjoyed the venison recipe Shayne. Your changes sound delicious!
This is my favorite venison roast recipe! I added mushrooms to ours and we loved it.
Thanks Sarah
So glad you enjoyed this venison roast recipe Jeff!
At what temp would you cook the roast if you placed it in the oven after completing the stove-top prep? Btw it sounds fantastic.
Hi Glenn. If doing it in the oven vs the stove, I would do it at 300F. I would check the roast occasionally though to be sure there is enough moisture in your pot. Let us know how it turns out for you!
over the top delicious
Thank you Sue!
Our neighbor gave us a 2lb venison roast. I'm not familiar with cooking venison but this recipe looks like agood place to start. Would you suggest I reduce the cooking time and halve the other ingredients?
What a nice neighbor! You can definitely reduce the cooking time, probably to closer to 2 hours. Although, as long as the roast is covered in liquid, cooking it for the full 3 hours will just increase the tenderness and won't dry it out. You can halve the other ingredients if you like. Often, we don't when we cook a smaller roast, because we like having them as leftovers. Enjoy!
Delish! I used one while potato, one sweet potato, one-half of a rutabaga, two stalks of celery and some carrots with a venison roast. Loved it!
What delicious additions! Glad you enjoyed it!
My first ever recipe review (and trust me I try a lot of recipes online)!! The entire family LOVED this recipe. It made the venison so much better than how you’d cook the typical beef roast. I was worried it would just taste like beer but it didn’t and was so good. I didn’t have broth so I used two chicken bullion cubes with two cups of water as a substitute. I did add more salt and garlic powder at the end to my liking to finish the gravy. Will always use this recipe from now on.
So glad you and your family loved the venison recipe Tiffany!
This recipe sound fantastic but my question is can I do this in the instapot. If so how would I modify the time of cooking. Thank you Colleen
Hi Colleen, We are not familiar with instapot cooking, but my best guess would be to do it the same way you would do a 4 lb beef roast. If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out for you!