First venison neck roast

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GentlemanJerk

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Sep 5, 2018
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Bellefonte, PA
Helped butcher out a couple of deer that were taken for causing crop damage last weekend. I was given about 20 lbs of meat including a neck roast. Having never made one I dug online for a recipe and tested it out. The only thing I did special about the meat was to brine it overnight since it didn't have any time to hang and drain. I browned the neck in a dutch oven, then sauteed some celery, carrots, onions, garlic and mushrooms in the dutch oven. Once the veg were starting to brown, the neck went back in with some beef stock, tomato paste, black pepper, rosemary/thyme/sage, brown sugar, water (recipe called for 18 oz of stout but I didn't have any handy) and just a bit of flour. Then into the oven at 375 with the lid on, checking every now and then if it needed more liquid. After about 5 hours the bones would just fall out of the meat. Took it out and shredded it to cool, the rest of the veg and liquids were immersion blended together to make a gravy. The meat was very tender and almost melted in my mouth.

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Thanks for all the comments!

I generally shoot my deer in the neck so it is rare that I actually get a neck roast at all.
 
Helped butcher out a couple of deer that were taken for causing crop damage last weekend. I was given about 20 lbs of meat including a neck roast. Having never made one I dug online for a recipe and tested it out. The only thing I did special about the meat was to brine it overnight since it didn't have any time to hang and drain. I browned the neck in a dutch oven, then sauteed some celery, carrots, onions, garlic and mushrooms in the dutch oven. Once the veg were starting to brown, the neck went back in with some beef stock, tomato paste, black pepper, rosemary/thyme/sage, brown sugar, water (recipe called for 18 oz of stout but I didn't have any handy) and just a bit of flour. Then into the oven at 375 with the lid on, checking every now and then if it needed more liquid. After about 5 hours the bones would just fall out of the meat. Took it out and shredded it to cool, the rest of the veg and liquids were immersion blended together to make a gravy. The meat was very tender and almost melted in my mouth.

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Hi there and welcome!
Nice work, that is the way to do them!

I would also suggest you keep the front and back shanks (keep the heel muscle on the back shanks) and do them the exact same way... or cut the meat off the bone and do the shank meat the same way.

Shanks have become my favorite part of the deer braising them the way you braised those necks.

In TX our deer are smaller bodied so neck meat is not much of a reality for me either. I do mostly meat hunts for does, spikes, and unwanted deer. I'm lucky if any one of them is over 95 pounds so no real meat on the necks.

I can't wait for hunting season!!! :D
 
looks great, yeah the neck is a great tasting piece of meat, glad i'm a bad shot and can't hit them in the neck.
 
Hi there and welcome!
Nice work, that is the way to do them!

I would also suggest you keep the front and back shanks (keep the heel muscle on the back shanks) and do them the exact same way... or cut the meat off the bone and do the shank meat the same way.

Shanks have become my favorite part of the deer braising them the way you braised those necks.

In TX our deer are smaller bodied so neck meat is not much of a reality for me either. I do mostly meat hunts for does, spikes, and unwanted deer. I'm lucky if any one of them is over 95 pounds so no real meat on the necks.

I can't wait for hunting season!!! :D

They are about the same size in PA (where these deer were harvested). I've recently started hunting in upstate NY where my wife's family lives and the deer are much bigger up there. Lots of feed fields and no hills/mountains for them to climb. I doubt I could get a full neck roast from any of the deer I've shot in NY in that same dutch oven in one piece.

We generally turn the shanks into grind, but I'll have to try it out. Kinda like an osso bucco.
 
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They are about the same size in PA (where these deer were harvested). I've recently started hunting in upstate NY where my wife's family lives and the deer are much bigger up there. Lots of feed fields and no hills/mountains for them to climb. I doubt I could get a full neck roast from any of the deer I've shot in NY in that same dutch oven in one piece.

We generally turn the shanks into grind, but I'll have to try it out. Kinda like an osso bucco.

Yeah definitely don't grind the shanks. All that silver skin and connective tissue degrades the quality of the grind... HOWEVER it turns into liquid deliciousness when braised. You won't grind a shank ever again :D
 
GJ, Great way to do a neck and the meat is incredible when cooked like that. Your meal looks awesome. Off subject but another way to try shanks is to cube,flour and brown in oil for 5 minutes then into a crockpot for stew.After 8 hours that meat is so tender and flavorful it melts in your mouth. LIKE!
 
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That looks so good, nice cook.
Like!

Oh man, I'm salivating at the thought of that meat/gravy over buttered and pan toasted french bread.
A huge delicious open faced Sammie.
Hell Yeah!

My wife made some open faced sandwiches over the weekend with the meat, gravy, and some melted provolone over top of pretzel bun. Oh my, that was good.
 
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