Slow Cooker Venison Roast Recipe

This slow cooker venison roast recipe creates a deliciously tender dinner that easy to make on busy days. It’s made with a creamy sauce for a rich, comforting taste and pairs perfectly with roasted vegetables.

If it’s your first time trying venison or you’re not a fan of game meat, this is a great recipe that tastes really similar to a beef pot roast. Often, venison pot roast tends to be a bit more tough than beef, even when cooked at a low temperature. But this recipe brings out the delicate and juicy flavor of this cut of meat.

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Slow Cooker Venison Roast

Cooking your deer roast slowly in the crock pot is the best way to ensure a juicy, fall-apart, melt-in-your-mouth delicious roast that’s not tough or dry. It takes 8-9 hours to get a good, tender roast. Fortunately, it’s also super convenient to throw your roast in the crockpot in the morning, add a handful of simple ingredients, and come back to a cozy dinner in the evening. 

While I love the convenience of roasts, one downside is that their slow-cooked tenderness sometimes just ends up tasting like a pile of mush in the end. Yes, a convenient pile of mush, but with a lot of roast recipes, the flavors just get so cooked together that they end up tasting all the same. (Care for some meaty-flavored, mushy carrots, anyone?)

This recipe creates a flavorful venison roast that’s perfectly fall-apart tender, but not mushy.

We also found another key to making our roast dinners absolutely delicious. It’s not the most convenient, but it makes all the difference…

…roast your vegetables on the side.

If you’re also not a fan of mushy carrots and potatoes, just take the time to roast your vegetables separately. Pairing a juicy venison roast with crispy cooked carrots and roasted-to-perfection potatoes just elevates the meal that much more! 

Ingredients

• 3-lb venison roast. We’ve used different venison cuts for this recipe. Neck roast, rump roast, or a venison shoulder roast all work well. You can throw your roast in the crockpot thawed or frozen, and it will still be ready to eat in 8-9 hours.This recipe is quite forgiving.
• Cream of chicken soup. I honestly don’t know why this works, but it does. It seems strange to add chicken to venison. I was getting tired of mushy, bland roasts and opted for cream of chicken one time, and haven’t gone back. It’s delicious!
• Onion chunks. Be sure to add plenty of delicious, large chunks of onion!
• Garlic cloves. Chopping each clove in half is enough to release the delicious flavor and taste of garlic cloves.
• Beef broth. You can also substitute with venison broth if you have some. 
• Black pepper. Use freshly-ground pepper if you have it! 
• Thyme. This aromatic herb is essential for the flavor it adds to this dish.
• Soy sauce. Soy sauce also infuses your roast with delicious flavor. 
• Worcestershire sauce. Worcestershire sauce is a strong seasoning. You only need a little bit, but it marinades your meat all day!
• Flour. This ingredient is totally optional, and the roast is still delicious without it. Sometimes I add it and sometimes I don’t. But adding a bit of flour to your gravy toward the end of the cooking time helps thicken it up with hardly any extra work.
• Fresh rosemary and thyme (optional). Fresh herbs sprinkled on top add elegance and fragrance to your finished dish.

Instructions

This recipe is just about as easy as a roast recipe can be. Start it in the morning and enjoy a healthy and warming dinner in the evening! 

1. Add roast through Worcestershire sauce to the slow cooker. (In other words, everything except for the flour and fresh herbs.) Add your spices and seasonings on top of the roast to infuse the maximum amount of flavor.
2. Cook on low for 7 hours. 
3. At the 7-hour mark, mix 1 Tablespoon of flour with 3 Tablespoons of water in a small bowl and whisk into your gravy mixture. This step is optional, but it’s a great way to thicken up your gravy and make it even more delicious. 
4. Cook for 1 more hour (8 hours total). 
5. Place fresh herbs on top and serve on a serving platter. You can pour the cooking liquid over the roast or serve it on the side as a gravy.

What to Serve With Venison Roast

Some of our favorite dishes to eat with roast venison are:

• Roasted carrots 
• Roasted potatoes
• Mashed potatoes
• Baked sweet potatoes
• Sautéed green beans
• Homemade applesauce

While slow cooking vegetables is convenient, carrots and potatoes cooked on low heat all day just get so mushy, even if you set them on top of the meat (also, a venison roast is only so big…). If you have time, the best thing to do to get the maximum flavor and deliciousness out of your meal is just to cook some vegetables separately. 

Of course, if you need to come home to a fully prepared dinner, you can always just opt to put some carrots and potato chunks in with your roast. It’s still tasty!

FAQs

Is venison gamey tasting?

Venison can have a gamey, “tough”, or “earthy” flavor compared to the taste of beef. The way you cook your venison will impact the flavor a lot. But in addition to cooking, the taste of every also deer is different depending on the animal’s diet, age, how/when it was killed, and how it was processed.

Although we love beef, we also love the taste of venison, especially when prepared just right! 

Read more about our family’s opinion on the taste of venison vs. beef, including the benefits of eating venison.

What else can you do with venison shoulder meat?

Deer shoulder is great for pot roast, venison stew, and burger meat. Slow cooking venison shoulder is the best way to get the most tender meat out of this portion of the deer.

Is hunting wild game cost effective?

Whether or not hunting is cost effective depends on factors like equipment, gas, time, processing expenses, and what type of wild game you’re hunting. We’ve found venison to become more and more cost effective over the years. 

Check out our cost breakdown to see how much each pound of venison ends up costing us. 

More Favorite Venison Recipes

Deer meat makes up a large portion of the meat we eat each year. Here are some more favorite ways to eat venison:

• Steakhouse-Style Venison Steak Recipe
• Venison Chili Recipe
• Slow Cooker Venison Stew Recipe
• Venison Tacos

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