Two days ago I took a venison leg roast out of the freezer and left it in a bread pan in the fridge to defrost. The roast came from the recent deer season when my dad shot a doe just an hour into the morning on the first day of the season. I pulled it out last night and cut through the butcher paper. I set it on a pan that I had covered in tin foil, liberally doused each side with Lea & Perrins Worcestershire and placed it in the broiler for six minutes on a side. Ordinarily I might roll the roll the roast in flour and onion soup mix, browning the outside in butter on the stovetop, but the broil seal is a healthier low carbohydrate option. With a thin cut of meat, about and inch and a half I am told by Angela, you could start and finish the meal in the broiler.

While the meat was broiling and sealing in all the juice, I started the gravy on the stove by melting two tablespoons of butter and browning a diced shallot. When the shallot was transparent I added two tablespoons of flour and whisked it as it browned and when that mix started to get golden I added two cups of beef broth. Angela made this gravy the other night, at the final stage she added a quarter cup of steak sauce to the gravy – I skipped this step and just let the gravy cook down longer.

Flipping the roast was a little challenging as one side was rounded, so I used two inverted Crème Brule cups to balance it when it was round side down (I learned this trick at Thanksgiving this year trying to balance the inverted turkey). After about eighteen minutes or so in the broiler I checked the roast and found it seared, but bloody all the way through. I set the temperature to 275 and placed the roast in my cast iron Dutch oven. I poured the gravy over the top, put the lid on and slid it onto the top shelf to cook for the next forty-five minutes.

I pulled it and sliced it to happily discover that it had the consistency of a medium rare prime rib. I put the sliced roast back into the gravy to rest and meld the flavors. I’ll be on roast leftovers until the gumbo is done. Actually with Jason visiting I wouldn’t count on any gumbo leftovers, even if I make a double batch.