Our celebration of this day always kicks off with the opening of stockings in the morning, and if we were able to get a deer that year, we try to cook up the neck roast for dinner that evening. The stockings always have the classic gold coins (chocolate, of course), and an orange, plus a few of the kids favorite seasonal candies and a small gift, and we often enjoy the VeggieTales’ St. Nicholas video while the kids enjoy their treats for a fun telling of the story of St. Nicholas. The older kids enjoy telling the apocryphal story that St. Nicholas punched Arius in the face (some versions say he slapped Arius), and they crack up at the pickle barrel story as “demonstrated” by a parent in the “Bad Catholics” series.

Sometime after we began processing our own deer from hunting, we came across a recipe for a rosemary venison neck roast. This is such a savory and delicious meal that we decided it should be used to celebrate one of our favorite Saint days, and since it’s a perfect, wintery meal, we settled on the memorial of St. Nicholas.

The neck roast is easy to make, but the key is to remember to make it! (I forgot to do it two years ago.) Slow-cooking is key to an amazing, fall-apart cut of meat. I use the slow cooker so I don’t really have to monitor things.

I cook the roast with small onions, maybe 10 (but you could use larger onions, cut into quarters and put into the bottom of the cooker), along with 4 chopped, large cloves of garlic (not elephant garlic).

The key to make garlic peeling and mincing not absolutely miserable is to crush the unpeeled cloves with the side of a large knife. I lay the blade flat side down on the clove with the sharp end pointing slightly downward so I don’t cut myself, and then smash the knife with the heel of my palm. This loosens the skin, which makes peeling much easier, plus it releases the allicin which gives you better flavor, and it makes chopping much easier.

After throwing the garlic in, I add a large sprig of rosemary. Lots of rosemary is key. If I had to take a guess at how much it would be in terms of measurements, it’s probably around 1 TBSP. of rosemary needles. I also added a big sprig of sage, maybe 5-6 leaves(?). A sprig or two of dried sprigs of thyme can be added, which is probably the equivalent to 1/2 tsp. dried, and crushed. The final touch for amazing flavor is a cinnamon stick.

With the roast in the crock pot, I add 6-8 cups of broth, and sprinkle the top of the roast with pinch of salt a pepper. I flip the roast about halfway through cooking.

A frozen roast cooked whole on low for about 8 hours will really fall apart. Flipping the roast isn’t absolutely necessary, but it’s best to do it about midway through if you plan to do so. I add carrots 3 or 4 hours before dinner will be served. You don’t want to add them immediately or they’ll just turn to mush. I use 4-5 carrots cut into 1″ lengths, with thick parts sliced in half lengthwise.

When the roast is finished, it’s removed from the slow cooker, put it on a serving platter, and covered with foil. The veggies are removed from the broth, and also put under foil. Then I make gravy with the broth. I use about 1/3 cup melted butter, mix it with enough flour to make a thick paste, and add partially strained broth until I get the right consistency.

The broth from cooking this roast makes the best gravy. Some of the broth cooks off during the cooking process, but you still end up with several cups’ worth of gravy (between 4 and 5, if I had to guess). I highly recommend making gravy from the broth to serve with the meal. The meat is amazing on its own, but with the gravy, it’s just… phenomenal. I’m sure you could substitute a neck roast for any kind of roast, and still use these seasonings, but rosemary goes really well with venison.

If you want to serve it with more than just carrots and onions, you could throw potatoes into the crockpot when the carrots are added, or cook them separately, and you can’t go wrong with some fresh bread.

The “recipe” is below, but feel free to adjust according to taste!

• 1 venison neck roast, deboned* (from 3-7 lbs.)
• 10 small onions, paper skin removed
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large sprig of rosemary
• 1 large sprig of sage
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6-8 cups beef broth
• 1 neck roast
• several carrots, cut into large chunks, to add later in the cooking process

Put all ingredients but the carrots into a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Flip tied roast halfway through to keep any parts from drying out. Add carrots several hours before serving meal. Remove roast from pot, place on platter, along with strained veggies, and cover with foil. Make rue for gravy with 1/3 c. butter and enough flour to make a thick paste, Remove some of the broth from pot and strain. Whisk into rue. Cut string from roast. Serve, and enjoy!

This year, our son got a massive buck, and the deboned neck weighed in at 15 lbs! We decided to break that into two roasts since even with our big family we won’t eat even a whole 7.5-lb. roast in one sitting. If your family hunts for deer, make sure this cut of meat is saved, and serve it for something special!

In Christ,
Danielle

*Note: We use a deboned neck, with the esophagus removed, but some people cook the whole thing. After deboning, I roll the roast and tie it with butcher’s twine to help it cook evenly. Rolling also traps some of the liquids from the parts that dissolve like the fats and tissues, and it keeps the roast together until it’s mealtime.