Venison Roast with Spiced Blueberry Chutney

Our stash of venison included a 3-1/2 pound roast. While at the Berry Patch when they were still at the Pittsburgh Public Market earlier this year, we had sought advice on what would go well with a venison roast, and the hot blueberry jam was recommended to us.

A little googling led me to this Herbal Roasted Venison with Spiced Blueberry Chutncy recipe that sounded pretty good. I made a few adjustments, incorporating the hot blueberry jam into the marinade and the chutney, using fresh instead of frozen blueberries, and skipping the juniper berries (only because I didn't have any). This is what I came up with:

Ingredients:

1 (3-4 lb) venison roast

Herb Rub:

fresh rosemary leaves, about 6 springs
fresh thyme leaves, to taste
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons coarse salt

Marinade:

1-1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup hot blueberry jam

Spiced Blueberry Chutney

3 oz hot blueberry jam
6 oz fresh blueberries
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp cup sugar
1 oz raisins
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Directions:

Using a small knife, make slits all over the roast.

Mix herb rub ingredients in a food processor and rub the mix into the roast.

Mix marinade together and pour into a 1 gallon Ziplock bag. Place roast inside the bag, zip it tightly, and swish it around to make sure the marinade covers all sides of the roast. Place in a bowl and marinade overnight in refrigerator. Turn roast around during the marinade process for even coverage.

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Place roast in a roasting pan, cover, and roast 20 minutes per pound. Uncover, increase heat to 375˚F, and roast until desired doneness. (For me, it took another 35 minutes to get to medium.)

In the meantime, mix all chutney ingredients but the mint in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until thickened, about 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Let cool, and stir in mint. Serve with roast.

Hot blueberry jam from the Berry Patch

Venison marinating in herb rub and blueberry marinade

Venison Roast with Spiced Blueberry Chutncy

We only had one venison roast, so I suppose I won't be making this exact dish again for a while, but it was delicious and I suspect the spiced blueberry chutney would go well with steaks or other types of roasts.

Recipe adapted from:
Seattle Times (get the original recipe here)