Cooking a nice big roast is a timeless way to mark a special occasion and feed a festive crowd. Our Holiday Roast is no exception. Here are a few key things to keep in mind during preparation and cooking to ensure a successful meal of tender, juicy meat. Jump straight to the recipe or read on to learn all the prep details in serving up a perfect holiday meal centerpiece. 

The Key Takeaways:

TAKEAWAY #1

• Salt is your friend in helping to keep your roast nice and juicy, and properly seasoned throughout. I like to salt the entire roast liberally at least 4 hours before cooking but preferably 24 hours ahead to allow the salt to fully penetrate the roast. You can add more seasoning and or flavor with a rub and/or by making a half dozen incisions with a thin knife into the roast and adding thin slices of garlic or a spice/herb paste. After carving the roast give a piece a taste and feel free to sprinkle the roast with some good finishing salt if necessary. A marinade is also an option to add salty seasoning and a boost of flavor.

TAKEAWAY #2

• A two temperature stage cooking method yields the best results. Starting out at a high temperature (450°F) achieves a nice crust, locking in juices and a more mellow temperature (350°F) finishes cooking the roast gently and evenly.

TAKEAWAY #3

• The Maui Nui wild venison roast is very lean with minimal intramuscular marbling or external fat to self-baste it as it cooks. Making sure not to overcook it and dry it out is crucial. Using an instant read thermometer is key to nailing your desired degree of doneness. One with Bluetooth capabilities or a wire that runs from the probe out of the oven to the gauge is best so you don’t have to keep opening the oven door to get a reading, but any meat thermometer is better than guessing blindly.

TAKEAWAY #4

• Pulling the roast from the oven at between 130°F-135°F is ideal for a medium doneness. The roast will continue to cook as it rests rising as much as an additional 10°F or so. A medium finished product works best for these roasts. It yields beautiful, blush pink meat throughout most of the roast, while remaining juicy and quite tender. A roast pulled at a lower temperature is juicy, but can be a little tough. We suggest not going much past the recommended temperature as you risk drying out the roast.

TAKEAWAY #5

• The roast should take about 2 hours or so to cook but could take as little as 1-1/2 hours or as long as 3 hours depending on their size. For reference, a 4.5 lbs roast takes just over 2 hours to cook. Everyone’s oven is different, so keep an eye on the temperature, especially after it reaches 120°F as the last 10 or so degrees. Don’t fret if the exterior inch or so of the roast looks cooked a little past pink, it should still be tender and fairly juicy.

TAKEAWAY #6

• Resting the roast accomplishes a couple of things. It allows the juices to redistribute throughout the roast so they all don’t flood out when carving. And it allows the roast to gently finish cooking with its carryover heat as opposed to the blast of the oven which could dry out the exterior portion of the roast. 

JUMP TO HOLIDAY ROAST RECIPE.