Mushroom-Rubbed Roast Venison au Jus

This recipe comes from the “Fall” chapter of our newest book release—Wild + Whole: Seasonal Recipes for the Conscious Cook by Danielle Prewett. To preorder a copy of the book, click here.

When I was learning how to process deer, I did it all by trial and error. I looked at a lot of butchering diagrams, but most of the muscles on a hindquarter were simply labeled as “roasts,” and I wasn’t sure what that meant exactly. Is it a noun, or a verb, or does it imply both? It’s a
vague term commonly used to describe a large cut of meat, and what makes it more confusing is that not all roasts should be cooked the same way. Some are best braised, but what if you want that rosy-red meat? I developed this recipe for anyone who wants to successfully “roast their roast,” so it turns out similar to a juicy, meaty beef prime rib.

If you’re concerned that you don’t have the cooking chops to serve something like this, don’t worry—this recipe is practically foolproof! Use a cut that’s very tender and shaped in a way that ensures it will cook evenly. In fact, there are only two cuts I would use for this recipe: the inside round and the sirloin tip.

The sirloin tip is a football-shaped muscle in a deer’s hindquarter that serves a similar function as the quadriceps in your thigh. It sits above the kneecap and has to be carved off the femur. Technically, it’s composed of three small muscles; don’t try to separate these muscles to take out the two pieces of silver skin that divide them. This silver skin holds the roast together, and there’s a good deal of fat and flavor worth saving between it and the meat. (But do go ahead and trim the silver skin on the outside.)