Steve and I love being outdoors together and one of our favorite ways to spend time together outdoors is to hunt and fish together. Not only do we get to spend quality time together, but we also get to fill our freezer with yummy food. Fishing for food and hunting for food are just one of the many, many ways we work together to spend less on food each month. This slow cooker venison roast is the product of one of those hunting trips and oh my soul; it’s to die for!
Jump to Recipe
Venison roasts – or deer roasts – are super easy to cook and taste amazing. It is a great alternative to beef and for the most part, you will never know the difference. In fact, you may find that – like my family – you prefer the taste of venison over beef.
Slow Cooker Venison Roast
Once you’ve made this slow cooker deer roast, you can eat it with root vegetables like a pot roast or you can make some really delicious venison sliders with the meat.
No matter how you choose to eat it, I am one-hundred percent sure you will never snub your nose up at deer roast again.
Slow Cooker Deer Roast
I say snub your nose up at because for a lot of people, deer meat is something they either have never had or have not had correctly.
If you’re one of the ones who have only had deer that has had a gamey or “wild” taste, know that deer does not naturally have that taste. The gamey flavor happens when the deer you’re eating was not bled correctly or did not have enough fat removed.
Unlike beef fat, deer fat has a very potent flavor that is truly unappetizing. Leaving too much of it on the meat or as I said, not fully bleeding the deer will cause that game taste to happen.
That game taste can be somewhat tamed a bit by soaking your deer meat in a salt brine for a few hours if you are truly concerned about it.
Crockpot Venison Roast
This crockpot venison roast goes perfectly with my roasted green bean with bacon recipe and my cheddar bacon mashed potatoes recipe.
If you’re serving this slow cooker deer roast recipe as sliders, consider something such as salad with avocado ranch salad dressing as a side.
Can I make venison roast in the Instant Pot?
Yes! If you would prefer to make this slow cooker venison roast in the Instant Pot, you absolutely can!
To do so, add 1/2 – 1 cup water or beef broth to your electric pressure cooker and make as stated in the recipe using your cookers setting for beef.
Allow a natural pressure release and remove the deer roast before shredding or slicing.
How to Make Crockpot Venison Roast
You will need:
- 1 ½ lb venison roast
- 1 tsp ground thyme
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 6 cloves garlic or 7 Tbsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp real butter
- 1/2 cup water
Supplies Needed:
- Sharp Kitchen Knife
- Deep Fry Pan
- Slow Cooker or Instant Pot with slow cooker setting
To prepare your deer roast, heat a deep fry pan on high with the butter. Sear the deer roast on all sides. Add the 1/2 cup water to the pan and scoop up all the drippings left in the pan.
Pour the water into your slow cooker.
Combine the salt, pepper and thyme in a small bowl. Add the garlic powder if you are using it instead of fresh cloves.
Once you have seared the roast, rub the sea salt, black pepper and ground thyme into the roast on both sides.
If you are using fresh garlic, slice the roast in several spots and stuff the slits with garlic.
Add the fresh rosemary on top.
Cook the deer roast on low for 6-8 hours or medium for 4-6 hours. If you prefer well done, cook closer to the longer time. For a more rare meat, cook the shorter time.
However, with that said, be sure to watch the actual temperature. If venison is over cooked, it becomes dry and nothing like what a properly cooked cut tastes like.
Venison roast is considered done at 130°F for rare and 140° for medium rare.
Slice your venison roast and serve with the sides of your choice! It’s so good, you’ll wonder why you haven’ made it this way before!
Slow Cooker Venison Roast
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat fry pan on high with butter. Sear venison roast on all sides. Add water to fry pan, scrape drippings then pour into slow cooker.
- Combine salt, pepper and thyme. Rub onto both sides of meat after searing.
- Cut slits in the roast and stuff with garlic cloves. Top with rosemary.
- Cook in slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or medium for 4-6 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Finding the right gifts for hunters can be overwhelming and stressful. These 54 gift ideas for hunters & fishermen take the work right out of shopping!
Have you ever thrown out a fishing line in order to feed your family? We do! Find out why we went fishing for food 10 days in a row and how much money we saved doing so! Fishing is a long lost skill, but one that can save you BIG!
Take your favorite green bean recipe to the next level and make this roasted green bean recipe next! There are no picky eaters at the table when you serve this roasted green bean with bacon recipe! Trust me!
