My father has been beggingHank Shawfor avenison recipefor months now, and Hank has delivered.
Not gamey at all, just a deeply flavorful pot roast.
~Elise
As some of you know, I am a hunter.
Elise Bauer
So I spend a lot of time adjusting traditional recipes to suit wild game.
Sauerbraten comes in as many varieties as there are cooks.
They used gingersnaps in their sauce, and I loved it.
Elise Bauer
A word on the marinade.
Let the marinade cool completely before submerging the venison.
Oh, and use an inexpensive wine you might think about drinking on a Wednesday night; nothing fancy.
Can you use something other than wine?
Yes, but then it is not a sauerbraten.
It is a pot roast.
Still good, though.
I offer several variants on how to cook the venison here, which mostly involve temperature and time.
Ideally you cook the venison very slowly over a very long period.
This keeps the meat pink and preserves more of the juices.
Sauerbraten is all about the sauce, anyway.
Turn off heat and allow the marinade to cool.
Submerge the venison in the marinade and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, and up to 5 days.
Three days is a good length of time for this.
Set it aside for 15-20 minutes or so.
At 275F, the roast will probably take about 5 hours to cook.
It will still taste good, though.
Either way is fine.
Pour the marinade into a Dutch oven or other lidded, oven-proof pot and bring it to a boil.
Add the venison to the pot.
Cover and put in the oven.
If the venison is not submerged by the marinade, turn the roast over every hour.
This is also a good way to test for doneness you want the roast to almost be falling apart.
The roast should take between 3 1/2 to 8 hours to cook, depending on the oven temperature.
At 275F, it should take about 5 hours to cook.
Reserve the rest of the oil or butter for later.
Wrap it in foil.
Sauerbraten is all about the sauce.
Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl.
Take the 8 gingersnap cookies and pulverize them in a blender.
You want it to look like a rough meal or coarse flour.
In a medium-sized pot, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat.
When it is frothing and totally melted, whisk in 2 tablespoons flour.
Cook the roux until it is the color of coffee-and-cream, stirring often.
Slowly whisk in the strained cooking liquid, one cup at a time.
The mixture will turn to clay at first, then loosen into a silky sauce.
Taste for salt it will probably need it and add enough to your taste.
Whisk in 4 tablespoons of the pulverized gingersnaps.
They will not dissolve completely at first, but keep stirring and they will disappear.
Add another tablespoon of gingersnaps if you want, or add a tablespoon of sugar.
Youll need about 1/2 stick melted to do this trick.
A hearty red wine would be an ideal match here, as would a dark, malty beer.
