Recipe by: Ethan Demi, Refraction Guide Service
If I have one recipe in my back pocket that is a true crowd-pleaser at the dinner table, it's this Goat Cheese & Spinach Stuffed Venison Roast Recipe. There are a few steps involved, but it’s easy to execute.
There are plenty of different ways to cook a venison roast. Keep this tasty and aesthetically pleasing wild game dish in mind when you have company over for dinner.
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 large whole muscle roast (I like to use a top or bottom round, but an 8”-10” chunk of backstrap works just as well
5 oz bag of spinach
3-4 oz of goat cheese
½ large white onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
Butchers twine
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Make sure all silver skin is trimmed from the roast and that roast is patted dry, season generously with salt and pepper, and then slice the roast open long ways like a hoagie roll. Be careful not to cut all the way through, and I stop just shy of cutting all the way to either end of the roast to help hold the stuffing in.
Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat and saute the onions until translucent, about 6-7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds before adding the spinach. Cook until all the spinach has wilted, mix well, and remove from heat. Spread it out on a plate and allow it to cool.
Spread the goat cheese evenly inside the roast. Once the spinach mixture has cooled completely, stuff the roast until full.
To help keep the stuffing in while cooking, wrap and tie a length of butcher’s twine around the roast about ever 1½ ‘’
Turn the oven to 350 degrees and heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat lightly coated with oil with a high smoke point, such as avocado. If you are using butter or olive oil, lower the heat.
Sear all sides of the roast. If your roast is smaller, you may want to check the internal temperature with a thermometer because I don't recommend cooking the roast past 130 degrees (medium rare). If your roast is larger, like the top or bottom round off of a buck, you will want to finish it in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
Remove heat and let rest for several minutes before slicing and serving. Sometimes I drizzle with a balsamic glaze upon serving as it pairs well with the goat cheese.
Choosing the Cut of Meat:
Depending on your meat cut, there will be some variance here with both cook time and the amount of stuffing you will need. Here I used a top round off of a mature whitetail buck, which is definitely on the larger end of the spectrum. When using the same cut from a doe or a backstrap instead, you may have some extra stuffing, and you should also reduce the cooking time, so you don't over-cook it.