Hey there and welcome back! I am so excited you decided to join me today because I have something new for this week. This week’s meal is easy, cheap and bursting with flavor – deer roast with ramp salt, garlic red potatoes and garlic, rosemary green beans. So, pour a drink and grab the scissors because you will want to keep this one!
Recently, my wife Cand and I went down to the White Sulphur Springs Farmers Market held on Thursdays from 3 pm to 6 pm in the greenspace/parking area between Hammer Cycles and 50 East. While strolling through the farmers market we came across Appalachian Bees and Botanicals booth and they had ramp salt – yes you read that right. Immediately I was interested and Candi said, “I bet that would be good on deer roast” and I was ready to start cooking! But before we could walk away, I also saw a garlic, rosemary sea salt that I couldn’t pass up; it didn’t hurt that it comes it a cute glass container with a tiny wooden spoon.
So, now that you have the background on how I got the idea for this meal let’s get cooking. For this meal you will need:
2 small deer roasts (roughly a pound to a pound a half each)
Ramp salt
Pepper
Red potatoes (I used the steam bags from Wal-Mart in the produce section)
Fresh green beans (also used the steam bags from Wal-Mart in the produce section)
Garlic Rosemary sea salt
6-8 tablespoons butter
Garlic powder
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Semi dried parsley (also found in the produce section at Wal-Mart)
Start by preparing your roasts. I soaked mine in milk for about 30 minutes then rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel. You can skip this step if you like, I just like to remove some of the gamey flavor. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and place the deer roasts in the pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the roasts then generously sprinkle the ramp salt on top with a few dashes of pepper and rub into the deer. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.
While the deer is cooking you can prepare your side dishes. These sides are super easy because both go in the microwave to cook, which cuts down on time and heat in the kitchen. Once you have cooked both the potatoes and green beans, place them in separate bowls. I cut the potatoes in half to make more bite sized pieces and to make sure each bite has lots of flavor.
Season the potatoes with the parsley, garlic powder, 3-4 tablespoons butter and salt and pepper. Season the green beans (which should be al dente) with the garlic rosemary sea salt and the remaining butter. Set aside and serve with the roast!
When I talked to Annie at the Village Wine shop about some possible wine pairing ideas for this meal, here is what she had to say, “For any game or venison dish, a potent and full-bodied wine is what you need to enhance the flavors of the meat and spices. One such delicious wine choice is an Amarone. (Am-a-ron-e) or Brunello, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, or Malbec. All of these suggestions are full body, jammy, layered in notes and a superb accompaniment to a game dish with garlic and rosemary. You may even find some of the umami flavors of the meat in these wines! It is not un-common to taste leather, smoke, baking spices, gravel or charred French oak. The heavier the wine and depending upon whether or not it is an older vintage, you may need to de-cant or aerate your juice.”
So, there you have it friends – a super easy meal for under $25 that could feed at least 4 people and doesn’t take too much time. What I also like about this meal is that I was able to support a local vendor – Appalachian Bees & Botanicals! According to their business card that have honey and honey products, infused olive oil and vinegars, garlic products and specialty items and they can be found at the White Sulphur Springs Farmers Market, on Facebook and Instagram.
Don’t forget to make this meal your own! You can change up the sides if you wanted and add the potatoes and green beans together and top with bacon, you could serve with macaroni and cheese with that garlic rosemary salt in it or you could even throw it all in a crock-pot with all the seasonings before work and come home to a dinner that smells and tastes delicious! No matter what you do have fun and as always, I am sending love from my kitchen to yours!
