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Ingredients
- 1 3-5 lb Maui Nui Butterflied venison leg
- 8-10 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 3-4 fresh rosemary sprigs, finely minced
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp of kosher or sea salt per 1 lb of meat
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup Ghee butter (can sub avocado oil, but highly recommend ghee butter)
- Note* An instant read thermometer is needed to keep from overcooking and give you the perfect finish.
Directions
Start by preparing the butterflied leg by trimming away any silver skin and pulling off any fat pockets. Rinse in cold water and pat dry. Separate the butterflied roast into large, easily managed pieces along their natural muscle borders. It makes it easier to remove any silver skin and maneuver while marinating and cooking. The roasts naturally seems to want to do this anyway- you’ll end up with 2 or 3 pieces. If your roast feels like it wants to stay whole, let it do so. Butterfly further into the thicker parts to have a more even thickness throughout or cut about ½ inch deep slits across.
Using a mortar and pestle add garlic and rosemary and mash until garlic forms into a paste. Then add, lemon juice and zest, dijon mustard, shoyu, maple syrup, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Mix until well combined.
Place the meat in a large zip lock bag and rub all over with the marinade. Seal the bag, squeezing as much air out as possible, place in the fridge to marinate over night. *Note to cut down on marinating time, vacuum seal in marinade for at least 3 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 250°F and have a roasting pan with rack ready.
Then pre-heat a large lightly oiled cast-iron pan over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes.
Remove meat from marinade and set marinade aside. Lightly pat the meat with a paper towel to remove most of the moisture and then rub ghee butter (or avocado oil) all over each piece.
As soon as the pan is smoking hot, place meat in the pan, (sear one piece at a time to avoid overcrowding) and sear undisturbed for about 2-3 minutes per side- it will get smoky, make sure to turn on your exhaust fan and open up windows.
Once the meat has been browned, place on rack in the roasting pan. Add water to the pan and scrape up all the flavorful bits. Pour into the bottom of the roasting pan along with the the marinade. Set on the middle rack in the oven.
Cook until it reaches 125-130°F (for medium-rare to medium), for about 1-1.5 hours. (about 20 minutes of cooking time per pound) Keep a close eye on it and check often with an instant read thermometer to avoid overcooking.
Place meat on a cutting board, tent with foil, and allow meat to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Pour pan drippings over sliced meat and serve. Enjoy!