Easiest Venison Roast Ever

Happy New Year! 2009 has started off well. Last night we had dinner for the family, which consisted of Salt Roast, then we treated 8 kids from age 2 to 13 to the junk food of their choice. They were in heaven, I realized how insane that was. Actually, the kids were great. It was a sober adult who broke my beautiful pottery platter that I got in Barcelona. Sigh.

This morning Rick took Gavin out to hunt. I just got a call that Gavin missed, but Rick got a deer. They're hanging out for another hour or so to see if the herd comes back. Better them than me. It is really cold out there. Meanwhile, I've got 4 children crashed out in the living room and no idea when they're going to wake up. It's very quiet and peaceful right now.

But I digress from the roast. My sister and I have been cooking beef roast this way for years. I got the idea in Spain, where one of the traditional dishes is to encrust fish in salt and cook it. The salt hardens, keeping the moisture inside the shell. The result is tender meat with a slightly salty flavor (warn your guests not to salt before tasting!). It's a little messy to clean up, but worth it. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture. Things were a little chaotic last night and I completely forgot.

Easiest Venison Roast Ever
4 to 6 pound boneless venison roast
5 pound bag course salt
water
meat thermometer

Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Pour the salt in a bowl and add water until the salt is moist. You don't want it dripping wet, you just need it wet enough to hold together a little when you cover the roast. Put the roast in a roasting pan and cover with the salt. Make sure the entire roast is covered with the salt mixture. Place on center rack and cook for 6 to 8 hours, until you get the internal temperature of how you like your meat (145 degrees for med-rare). Remove from oven and let sit. When you're ready to carve, you'll be able to chisel through the salt and move the roast to a cutting board.

You can cook it at higher temperatures for shorter periods, just follow the general roast cooking times. The salt casing will slow your cooking time, so make sure to use the meat thermometer. We cook at the lower temperature because the meat comes out more evenly cooked and you don't lose as much. Read this article for more on that subject.

One last thing: I get my coarse salt at the local international market. I've never seen large bags of coarse eating salt at a regular grocery store. You have to use the coarse salt; table salt won't work.