Prep Time: 2½ Hours
Yields: 6–8 Servings
Ingredients:
1 (3–5 pound) venison leg roast
pinch of thyme
pinch of basil
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
granulated garlic to taste
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 cups oyster or button mushrooms
2 cups sliced Bermuda onions
10 cloves garlic
4 sweet potatoes, cubed
2 cups muscadines or red grapes
1 cup pine nuts
2 quarts beef stock
Method:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Season roast with thyme, basil, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and hot sauce. In a large Dutch oven, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Brown venison well on all sides. Surround roast with mushrooms, onions, garlic cloves, sweet potatoes, muscadines and pine nuts. Pour in stock, 1 cup at a time, then bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, cover and bake 1½–2 hours or until roast is tender. Remove roast from pot and keep warm. Return pot to stove and reduce cooking liquid to a sauce consistency. NOTE: You may wish to thicken sauce with a light brown roux. Adjust seasonings to taste using salt, pepper and granulated garlic. To serve, slice roast and top with sauce.
From “After the Hunt: Louisiana’s Authoritative Collection of Wild Game & Game Fish Cookery,” Chef John Folse, Owner & CEO of Chef John Folse & Company, 2517 South Philippe Avenue, Gonzales, La. 70737, http://www.jfolse.com.
Bayou Blue is a small body of water that runs through the Coushatta Indian reservation. Venison was a primary ingredient in the Native American diet. The Coushattas created this venison dish that uses pine nuts from long needle pine trees.
