Cherry Chutney Venison Sliders
Braised game meat, a sweet-sour cherry sauce, and crunchy slaw on a bun. Dutch oven work at the truck.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 56
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 30 min
- cook
- 300 min
- total time
- 330 min
- water
- 700 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Venison, elk, or bear roast | 2 lb | any odd cut from the freezer works, thaw in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Beef bouillon | 2 cubes | dissolved in 700 ml water |
| Soy sauce | 2 tbsp | |
| Sesame oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried cherries | 1 cup | frozen work at home, dried travel better |
| Creamed honey | 1/3 cup | plus 1 tbsp for the slaw |
| Garlic | 3 cloves, minced | |
| Rosemary | 1 tsp, dried | |
| Ground ginger | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground cinnamon | 1/4 tsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Shelf-stable mayonnaise | 1/3 cup | squeeze packets if you want no leftovers |
| Lime juice | 2 tbsp | |
| Red cabbage | 2 cups, shredded | |
| Carrot | 1, shredded | |
| Green onion | 2, sliced | |
| Canned corn | 1/2 cup, drained | |
| Cilantro | 1/4 cup, chopped | |
| Slider buns | 12 |
Method
- Build a bed of coals or set the dutch oven over low flame. Sear the roast on all sides in the sesame oil.
- Dissolve the bouillon in 700 ml of boiled water and pour it over the meat with the soy sauce. Lid on.
- Hold it at a bare simmer for four to five hours. Coals on the lid help. Add water if it drops below halfway up the roast.
- Meanwhile, simmer the cherries, honey, garlic, rosemary, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a small pot with a splash of the braise liquid until it thickens into a chutney, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
- Toss the cabbage, carrot, green onion, corn, and cilantro with the mayo, lime juice, and a spoonful of honey.
- Pull the meat apart with two forks in the pot and stir in enough chutney to coat it.
- Pile it on buns and top with slaw.
This is a freezer-cleanout dish, which is why the cut is left vague. Braising does not care whether the roast came off a shoulder or a hind leg. Five hours in a covered pot over low coals turns connective tissue to gelatin, and lean game meat needs exactly that, since it has almost no fat of its own to keep it moist.
The chutney and slaw are doing the balancing. Game is dense and savory; the cherries and honey push sweet against it and the lime slaw cuts through both. Shelf-stable mayo in a jar or packets replaces anything that would otherwise need real refrigeration, and dried cherries stand in for frozen ones because they rehydrate in the pot anyway. This is car-camping food. The cooler and the long fire are the price of admission.
Packing
Mix the chutney spices into one small jar at home and shred the slaw vegetables the night before. Meat, mayo, and slaw ride in the cooler; everything else is shelf-stable.
Variations
- No cherries: dried cranberries and a spoon of vinegar get close.
- Skip the buns and spoon the meat over instant rice for a gluten-free version.
- Leftover braised meat goes into eggs the next morning without any further work.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/venison-freezer-cleanout-cherry-chutney-sliders