Venison Roast and Rice in Onion Gravy
Seared venison over rice cooked in onion gravy. Camp kitchen, one pot, one skillet.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 13 oz
- cal / oz
- 48
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 60 min
- total time
- 80 min
- water
- 250 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
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Venison roast | 2 lb | round or sirloin, trimmed of fat and silver skin |
|---|---|---|
| Parboiled rice | 2 cups | converted rice holds its shape in gravy |
| Canned beef consomme | 2 cans (10.5 oz each) | |
| Canned French onion soup | 1 can (10.5 oz) | |
| Beef broth | 1 cup | boxed, or bouillon and water |
| French onion soup mix | 1 packet | |
| Yellow onion | 1 large, sliced | |
| Mushrooms | 8 oz, sliced | or 1 oz dried, rehydrated in the broth |
| Butter | 1 stick, cut into 8 pieces | |
| Cooking oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder and black pepper | 1 tsp each | |
| Steak seasoning | 2 tsp | any coarse pepper-and-salt blend |
Method
- Build a bed of coals or set a liquid-fuel stove to high. Trim the roast, then rub it all over with the steak seasoning, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven until it shimmers. Sear the roast a minute or two per side until browned. Pull it out. It is not cooked through yet and should not be.
- Drop the onion and mushrooms into the same pan and cook until the onion goes soft, about five minutes.
- Add both cans of consomme, the French onion soup, the beef broth, and the soup mix. Bring it to a boil, then stir in the rice.
- Lay the roast on top of the rice, scatter the butter pieces over everything, and cover. Move to moderate heat or bank the coals down.
- Cook 35 to 45 minutes until the rice has drunk the liquid. Check at 30 minutes and add a splash of hot water if it dries out before the rice softens.
- Pull the roast, rest it five minutes, and slice thin across the grain. Serve over the rice with gravy spooned on.
This is a pantry dinner that survives the trip to a campsite intact. Everything except the roast and the butter is shelf-stable, and the roast keeps fine frozen in a cooler for two days. Cans of consomme and onion soup do the job a long-simmered stock would do at home, which is why an hour is enough.
Parboiled rice matters. Regular long grain turns to paste sitting under a roast in that much liquid, while converted rice stays separate and still takes on the gravy. Searing first is not for doneness, it is for the browned crust and the fond it leaves in the pan. Sliced thin across the grain, a lean venison round stays tender; cooked through and cut thick, it will not.
Packing
Roast rides frozen in the cooler and thaws on the drive. Rice, soup mix, and spices go in one bag. Cans and butter pack together. Dried mushrooms save cooler space if you have them.
Variations
- No venison? Beef chuck or a cheap sirloin roast cooks the same way, just longer.
- Swap the mushrooms for a can of green beans stirred in at the end.
https://realtree.com/recipe/timber-2-table/roast-venison-and-rice-in-onion-gravy