Meanwhile, I'm doing a venison pot roast for tonight's dinner.
Step One: pull venison roast from freezer. It's a roast from last year. Der Brucer's son-in-law, our venison purveyor, failed to purvey a deer this year, so when last year's venison is gone, it's gone. Might as well enjoy it.
Interesting, the roast is bone-in. Well, the idea with a pot roast is that it is best when it's falling-from-the-bone tender.
Step Two: render some bacon fat in a large dutch oven or pot. I like to use my pasta pot, because it's heavy, large, and fits in the oven nicely. I also like to nosh on the bacon after I've rendered the fat.
Step Three: sear the roast in the bacon fat. Doesn't take long. This isn't so much to "seal in the juices," a notion that has long been disproven. It does provide a nice caramelization on the outside of the meat.
Step Four: add the braising liquids to the pot. I poured in one bottle of beer (Dogfish Head India Pale Ale, if you must know, a highly regarded local brew), one can of beef broth (no, I don't make my own, I don't have that much time on my hands these days), and maybe a quarter cup of soy sauce. Don't tell der Brucer I use soy sauce, he claims he
hates can't stand the stuff.
I also added one carrot, diced, one onion, diced, maybe fifteen whole black peppercorns and five whole cloves.
Step Five: cover the pot and place in an oven that has been preheated to 300. Close door and walk away for a while.
