Slow Cooker Venison Roast with Vegetables and Blackberries
There are many ways to cook venison, but there’s something about the deep rich taste that just screams slow cooker.
This slow cooker recipe calls for the use of blackberries to add a little tartness and sweetness.
There are many ways of slow-cooking venison; it’s a standard go-to for many cuts of meat.
For this recipe, I used shoulder meat, but you can also use neck, shank, flank, or leg.
This may seem like your typical slow cooker venison with vegetables, but I implore you to try this with blackberries.
Blackberries are usually ripe when venison is being harvested, so these two go hand in hand.
Choosing the Right Vegetables
Most stewed dishes call for similar vegetables, and nearly all of them will work here. However, after some testing, I decided to use spinach for this recipe.
I did try using kale at first but found that spinach had a better texture profile for this dish. Although, if you prefer to use kale, it will still work.
Stewing Pot or Slow Cooker
This dish can be cooked in either a stewing pot or a slow cooker.
This time around, I made it in the slow cooker due to time constraints, but I have made many similar dishes in a stewing pot, and the end product is the same.
If you are using a stewing pot, keep in mind that the recipe will call for 250ml of extra water and 2.5 hours of cooking time as opposed to 50 minutes.
Slow Cooker Venison Roast with Vegetables and Blackberries
Ingredients
- 0,6 kg of cubed venison shoulder/chuck You can also use parts like neck, shank, flank, leg/round
- knob 50g of butter
- 1 tbsp of plain flour
- 2 red onions chopped
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 carrot sliced
- 2 parsnips sliced
- 1 glass dry red wine I used cabernet sauvignon
- 1 tbsp of blackcurrant jam
- 400 ml water or beef stock
- 1/2 sprig of rosemary
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
- A handful of spinach chopped
- 100 g blackberries fresh
- Whole grain bread ciabatta to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the pan or stewing pot to a smoking point, put in half the butter (25g) and all cubed venison, cook on maximum heat stirring from time to time until nice and caramelized (around 10 minutes).
- Stir in the flour and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Take venison out and in the same pan on medium heat put in the rest of the butter and all vegetables except garlic. Cook them for 10 minutes or until nice and golden, stirring occasionally. Then add the garlic and cook further for another couple of minutes. Now add red wine, beef stock or a cup of water, a tablespoon of blackcurrant jam, bring everything to a simmer.
- Transfer everything to a slow cooker or stewing pot, add bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Set on high for about 3 hours or low for 4-5 hours
- Finish it with chopped spinach and blackberries.
Notes
- In the photos, You can see kale was used instead of spinach, but after a few experiments spinach was chosen as a better option texture wise
- If using a pressure cooker – on electric one select “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” on high pressure and adjust the time to 50 minutes. When the cycle finishes, vent the pressure cooker fully, depending on the manufacturer’s instructions, and then remove the lid, stir in chopped spinach and blackberries and serve with fresh bread!
- If using a stewing pot, cook time is 2.5 hours
