Deer hunting: How to cook the best venison roast while at camp

Note: This story was originally published in 2014.

There's just something about riding into camp following an afternoon hunt, and being greeted with the smell of venison cooking — lifting the lid of the Dutch oven , steam rises from a hindquarter roast with vegetables in bubbling juices.

Does it get any better?

Maybe not, but who has time to cook a meal like that and still manage to hunt?

Outdoorsman and camp chef Jason Tarpley, of Monticello, Georgia , visited a camp in the Delta recently and showed that a tender, juicy venison roast can be cooked without interfering with time in the woods.

It's a no muss, no fuss recipe you can prepare in advance and cook in a single pot.

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Venison roast ingredients

• Small whole potatoes, unpeeled
• 1 small bag of carrots, peeled and sliced thick
• 2 large onions, sliced thick
• Venison roast, about 5 pounds
• 12-ounce package bacon strips
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 3.5 ounces dry rub (Tarpley prefers Lysander's Spicy Bourbon Rub, but others will work as well.)
• A few shakes of Cajun seasoning
• A few shakes of chili powder
• A few shakes of garlic powder
• 1 gallon of water

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How to cook a venison roast

Mix seasonings with a gallon of water in a large pot or oven roasting bag. Place meat in mixture the night before and place in refrigerator to marinate.

Before hunting the next afternoon, place roast in a 14-inch Dutch oven. Surround roast with vegetables and pour the marinade mix into the Dutch oven until it is level with the top of the roast and vegetables. Add more water, if needed. Cover with bacon slices and place lid on oven.

Pour a mound of charcoal about the diameter of the Dutch oven in a 22-inch Weber or similar grill and light. When the flames burn out, place grate on grill and put the Dutch oven over the coals. Leave the top off the grill, but keep the lid on the oven to retain moisture. Now it's time to hunt, but make sure someone is in camp to keep an eye on the grill for safety.

By the end of the hunt, the charcoal should be burned out. Add another mound of charcoal, light it, and return the oven to the grill when the flames die. Remove the oven lid. Place the top on the grill with the air vents open. Leaving the lid off the oven allows the bacon to brown and the juices to cook down.

Continue to cook for about an hour or until the juices have reduced by about half and the meat is fork-tender.

The roast should satisfy about 8 hungry hunters. Serve with toasted dinner rolls to dip in the gravy — that's something you don't want to miss.

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at (601) 961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Deer hunting: How to cook the best venison roast while at camp