Wined & Dined

Venison rib roast, dressed to impress.

Rib roasts are one of those things that look unbelievably elegant but are shockingly easy to prepare. With just a little bit of effort and know-how, you can knock the socks off a date, or your hunting buddies. Last fall, I chose the latter for a couple friends who had invited me along to their wall-tent deer camp. With some cooking advice from my roommate’s dad—a French chef—the roast came out better than any of us could’ve expected. Talk about an upgrade from our usual burgers and beer! Here’s the step-by-step breakdown.

Ingredients
Rack of venison ribs, with backstrap attached
Dijon mustard
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Fresh rosemary and oregano, finely chopped
Salt & pepper
Canola oil

Meat Preparation
The most challenging part of a rib roast is breaking down the animal. In the field, we used a pocket saw to cut through the backbone of the deer in two spots: at the neck, and in the rear—just a few vertebrae in front of the pelvic bone. Then we cut all the ribs to about seven inches long and pulled the whole thing—ribs and spine, with backstraps still attached—off the animal. At home, I hung it all in a cold garage for about a week. Once hunting season was over and everyone was back in town, I finished the trimming. To do so, I flipped the ribcage upside down (ribs pointing up) and used a Sawzall to cut all the joints where the ribs attach to the vertebrae. Then I flipped it back over and used a knife to fillet the backstraps away from the bone and cut away any crust that had formed. The end result was a big chunk of backstrap with about ten little stubs of ribs still attached. I sliced it in half so the roast could be presented with the bones beautifully interlocked with each other.

Cooking Instructions
Start by preheating the oven to 350. Then heat up a skillet—either high-carbon steel or cast iron—over medium heat until extremely hot. Meanwhile, rub the meat with a thin layer of mustard, and then roll it in the chopped garlic and herbs. Sprinkle with salt. Add a few tablespoons of oil to the hot pan, and immediately place the rib roasts in, backstrap-side down. Sear for a few minutes on all sides, just until a nice crust is formed. Quickly fold aluminum foil around the bones (so they don’t blacken), and place the roast in the oven. Cook the meat to an internal temperature of 135 degrees. It took my roast about 13 minutes, but go by temperature, not time. Once up to temp, remove the roast from the pan and place it on a cutting board to rest for another ten minutes, covered loosely with foil. To serve, stack the two pieces with ribs intertwined, and slice it between the bones with a live audience at the dinner table. Finally, ask your hunting buddies to keep their socks on.

Eli Fournier is a mediocre hunter and a mediocre chef, but every now and then lucks out—either bagging an animal or making something tasty.