Best way to cook leg of venison on open fire?

[Man of Tanith]

As above
Xander's latest plan is to bring a big bit of venison for our next camp at the end of the month.
my experience of cooking it in the woods is either in a stew or small cubes cooked on a stick over the embers however i want to do this piece of meat justice so wondered if any of you good folk had any suggestions?
thanks in advance

 

[spandit]

Wrap it in something & bury in a fire pit for a few hours - I'm sure RM did something similar

 

[Man of Tanith]

We've doen something similar ith a big lump of pork that worked ok
but fancied something a bit dfferent

 

[Shewie]

What about slow roasting it on a spinning string next to the flames? Wind the string up one way and then release, it'll unwind one way and then start going the direction after, it takes a bit of tending and winding up but it's okay if your just chilling next to a fire

We did it with a duck last year and it was cracking

 

[Man of Tanith]

that sounds a bit clever got any photos?
we're hoping to do some of the bushclass lessons from BCUSA so might be a bit too busy this time but sounds interesting none the less

 

[Shewie]

Nah, no photies bud

It's just a case of winding the string one way and then letting go, it'll spin each way for about five minutes then you need to wind it up again. The duck was fairly symmetrical so it spun quite nicely, I'm not sure how a leg would get on

 

[Man of Tanith]

hmmmm might give that a go with the phesant swompy said he was bringing along
we do eat well when we go out

 

[xander]

I'd rather keep it as a joint I just like the idea of it and I think our ancestors would have cooked it like this, well thats the vision i have in my head lol I'm thinking wrap it in something and turn it some how lol

 

[Shewie]

Put a foil tray underneath to catch the juices too, they baste it up nicely

 

[Man of Tanith]

well thats the vision i have in my head lol

Your visions in your head concern me at the best of times

 

[Samon]

never done anything that big outside before but you could try something simular to spit roasting or straight on the fire,they second method might not be as pleasant with all the charcoal but it's practiced in many tribes.

 

[Man of Tanith]

second option wouldn't do it justice i fear
spit roast might work

 

[santaman2000]

Shewie's idea is essentially a spit roast; it just has a vertical spit (the suspension string) beside the fire rather than over it. Probably easier to catch the drippings that way. Shewie, I suspect the suspension string is hung from a dingle stick?

 

[sandbender]

"...Wrap it in something & bury in a fire pit for a few hours..."

I would also suggest that you use a firepit, it'll take quite a few hours though depending on the quantity/size of the pieces, six to eight hours at least. If you can, cook the thing in a large steel pot or similar to collect the juices.

 

[tenderfoot]

venison can be quite dry so would need lots of basting if spit roasting. if pot roasting or doing an embers type slow cook it may do better if wrapped in streaky bacon before the foil or whatever you use to wrap it in. i think id try to do it in a liquid added/ casserole type dish with veggies possibly in a potje type container.i believe you can seal the lid on with a strip of flour/water dough to keep the moisture in.

 

[Mesquite]

Have a look at the way we did a leg of lamb at my birthday bash Sam...

It's virtually the same way that Shewie described but between 2 small fires and we just rotated it 90deg to ensure even cooking all round.

 

[stovie]

two legs of venison wrapped in bacon with onions and herbs, in a pit lined with bricks...once covered over leave for two-three hours, then serve...easy

 

[BoonDoc]

The steam pit way of cooking is great for bigger chunks of meat.

This is difficult here in County Kerry with six feet of bog under us. I have had great success with this technique in better locations.

 

[xander]

venison can be quite dry so would need lots of basting if spit roasting. if pot roasting or doing an embers type slow cook it may do better if wrapped in streaky bacon before the foil or whatever you use to wrap it in. i think id try to do it in a liquid added/ casserole type dish with veggies possibly in a potje type container.i believe you can seal the lid on with a strip of flour/water dough to keep the moisture in.

just been speaking to my butcher he recons streaky bacon is the way to go and if we cook it on a spit roast then cover it in foil

 

[Man of Tanith]

thats do able