Every hungry hunter wants to savor the rewards of his stalk and labors. Unfortunately, not all the cuts of venison are as succulent as the backstraps and tenderloin. This recipe makes a really awesome pot roast for loin, butt or shoulder roasts, which are tougher cuts of meat. Slow cooking for a long time transforms the meat into a tender and extremely flavorful entree. My fiancee loves this one.

Venison Loin, Butt or Shoulder Roast (3 - 4+ lbs)

2 or 3 cups of Red Cooking Wine or Sherry

Coarse Ground, Cracked Black Pepper

Coarse Salt

Rosemary, Fresh Sprig or Crushed Dry

Thyme, Ground or Fresh

Chopped Garlic

Sliced Yellow or White Onion

1-15 oz Can of Diced Tomatoes

6 or 8 Whole Red Potatoes

1/2 lb of Diced or Baby Carrots

Olive Oil

1 or 2 Strips of Bacon

Venison has very little fat on it and what there is you don't want to retain, so trim it off before cooking. Place the roast in a deep skillet and brown all over in a generous amount of olive oil. Brown the bacon and the diced onions too. The olive oil, bacon and onions add moisture and flavor to the naturally low fat meat.

Either use the deep skillet or transfer all the browned ingredients and oil to a crock pot. Add the potatoes, carrots, diced tomatoes. Add enough cooking wine or sherry to barely cover the meat. Season with black pepper, coarse salt, rosemary (fresh springs if you can get it), thyme (again, fresh if best) and garlic. Cook covered on low heat until meat is tender (at least an hour, maybe three, depending on how low the heat is set). Longer on lower heat is best. You'll probably have to add water at some point as it cooks down.

Serve the venison roast with pinot noir or a merlot or a good dark beer. Accompaniments could be anything from a green salad to asparagus to cole slaw to green peas or green beans. I like my Mom's recipe for sweet and sour green beans, made with French cut green beans (well drained) and the liquid replaced with some cider or wine vinegar, a dash of balsamic vinegar, crumbled bacon bits and a bit of onion.