Venison roast gets fall-apart tender in the Instant Pot braised with red wine. Get that cooked all day long taste and a full meal quickly and easily.
So, you guys went BONKERS for my Instant Pot Venison Stew which was the inspiration for this Instant Pot Red Wine Venison Roast. And, I mean, for good reason because it’s
Anywho, I begged Jared to get us some roasts this November when he harvested his Ohio buck. We just moved into our first home, so up until now, we’ve been relying on butchers to process our deer for us after J quarters them in the field. Processing a deer isn’t really too possible in a second story apartment, lol.
Back to the Instant Pot Red Wine Venison Roast. My stew recipe taught me that the Instant Pot is a one way ticket to tender venison town. It creates fall apart meat like no other.
What I do to make this happen with a roast, is start by searing it as hard as I can on the saute cycle for 10 minutes.
Then I add my braising liquid which is a good bit of red wine (the alcohol cooks out) some balsamic, and herbs d’Provence with a healthy amount of salt and pepper. The braising liquid combined with the pressure cooking powers of the IP
The trick is to cook the meat on its own for an hour. You then release the pressure, add the veggies and cook for 10 more minutes. That’s how you get fall-apart meat and not soggy veggies, friends. You’re going to LOVE this Instant Pot Red Wine Venison Roast.
Stick with me, kid. I’ll learn ya (J says this to me ALL the time, haha).
If you love this recipe, you’ll LOVE my Instant Pot Venison Shepherd’s Pie, too!
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Instant Pot Red Wine Venison Roast
Venison roast gets fall-apart tender in the Instant Pot braised with red wine. Get that cooked all day long taste and a full meal quickly and easily.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 80 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: French American
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2.5–3lb. venison roast*
- 1 and 1/2 cups dry red wine, like Cabernet
- 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. herbs d’ Provence*
- 1 + 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 yellow onion, cut into chunks
- 4–5 carrots, cut into chunks
- 3 parsnips, cut into chunks
- about 5 gold potatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 Tbsp. arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to “Saute” for 10 minutes.
- After about 3 minutes, when it is hot, add the oil and then the venison roast.
- Sear both sides of the meat until browned.
- When the “Saute” cycle has finished, add the red wine, balsamic vinegar, herbs d’ Provence, salt and pepper.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot. Make sure the knob is set to “Sealing”.
- Set the Instant Pot to “Pressure Cook” or “Manual” on “High Pressure” for 60 minutes.
- Allow the course to run and allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 10 minutes then carefully perform a manual release.
- Add the onion, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes to the Instant Pot on top of the venison. Toss everything around as best as you can to get some of the liquid on top of the vegetables, but don’t worry if they’re not covered.
- Return the lid to the Instant Pot and turn the knob to “Sealing”. Set it to “Pressure Cook” or “Manual” for 10 minutes on High Pressure.
- Allow the cycle to run and immediately perform a manual release.
- Remove the vegetables and the venison from the pot. Simply shred the roast into chunks to serve.
- To make gravy, strain all of the pot juices into a medium saucepot. Whisk in the arrowroot powder. Cook for 5-10 minutes over medium heat until desired thickness is reached. Taste before serving to test seasoning level and stir in salt and pepper if desired.
Notes
- beef roast would work well, too!
- If you want to make this in the slow cooker, saute the venison in a pan and add it to the slow cooker with all of the other ingredients. Let it cook for 4-5 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
- herbs de Provence is a French spice blend. It’s lovely and Wal Mart actually has a great organic variety for under $3. If you have to substitute, use Italian seasoning.
- If you don’t want to use red wine, beef stock could be used to substitute, however, I have not tested that method.
Nutrition
- Calories: 539
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 606 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 58 g
- Cholesterol: 233 mg
Keywords: instant pot, venison, wild game, red wine
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Is there something I can use instead of the wine? We don’t drink alcohol but I don’t want to lose flavor or the roast to dry out!
Hi Lauren! You could try beef stock! It won’t have the same flavor but that is what I would try!
Great recipe! Thank you for sharing this, will definitely try this one out! 🙂
I’m so glad! Let me know what you think!
The flavors were wonderful !!!!! My roast came out a bit dry so I don’t know what I did wrong but I poured some juice on it and a pat of butter and it was perfect ! I’m new to the insta pot so this was the perfect meal for this rainy, cold gray day we’re havin here in Nebraska. Thank Ya Allie for puttin together such a delicious receipe that was so easy to follow. I signed up for yer newsletter !
★★★★★
Oh I’m glad it worked out! Maybe try searing a bit longer next time and bumping down the cooking time by 10 minutes if it was still tender? Ours is usually fall-apart and juicy, but every deer is different – our roasts may have a bit more fat left! Thank you so much for trying and for jumping on my newletter! <3
Thank Ya for the cooking recommendations. I’m looking forward to yer other receipes.
Of course! 🙂
I did the frozen method and all turned out great. Thank you for recipe!
That is AWESOME, Dean! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Hi! Do you think we could use a frozen venison roast? How would that effect cooking time?
You could definitely do that! I would cook it for 30 minutes per pound (so about 75-90 minutes) before you release the pressure and add the vegetables! If you do this, I’d love to know how it goes for you!
Thank you! I will report back!
Did you try the frozen venison? Curious how it turned out!
I have not! We’re all out of roast this year but will look into that soon. In the meantime, this post has some notes on cooking a frozen roast. It’s beef but similar: https://amindfullmom.com/instant-pot-pot-roast/
Do you think thawed is better than frozen- if I have the option to let it thaw would it be better?
Yes – I always thaw if I can.
Very disappointed as I followed the recipe exactly! The flavors were incredible and veggies too, but the meat, so so so dry and tough : (
Any idea why? Overcooked it or not cooked long enough? Like i said, followed the recipe exactly.
I’m so sorry your results weren’t great! perhaps the roast may have needed more time.
The flavors were nice, but my roast didn’t come out “fall apart tender” at all. It was pretty tough. I was very careful with the searing, so it wasn’t that. I think high heat for 60 minutes might be too long. Otherwise, the flavor was delightful.
★★★
Interesting! Sorry to hear that, and that’s rather strange!
I made this with a 2lb roast. It wasn’t “fall apart “ but was still very tender and the flavors were great. I did the roast for 50 minutes then added the veggies (didn’t have parsnips so added more carrots and potatoes). Had to add another 5 minutes pressure cook to get them perfect. Was a great easy recipe and will definitely make it again. Once my hubby gets another deer 😊 thanks for your wonderful venison recipes…I’m new to cooking venison and you are a great resource!!
★★★★★
I’m so glad, Paula! Good luck to your husband!
Never made a roast before in my life and this turned out awesome. Hands down, best roast I’ve ever had. The meat shredded apart easily with a fork and the flavor was perfect! Thank you!
★★★★★
This makes me smile! SO glad you enjoyed!
This recipe was excellent!!. I cooked a 2.75 lb. inside blade venison chuck roast from frozen. I did extend the cooking time a bit. The first cook was 60 minutes with a 10 minute release and the second cook was 15 minutes with a 30 minute release. The texture was a perfect pot roast tenderness that did not shred but still held together when sliced cross grain. As in beef, I expect that cuts from the venison chuck (shoulder) are more suitable for this technique than roasts from the round (rear leg).
★★★★★
I’m so glad this worked with your frozen roast, William! Thanks so much for the awesome review!
I tried your Red Wine Venison Roast today!!! This recipe is another keeper. Thanks so much!
I’m SOOO glad, Kathy! Thank you for your comment 🙂
Can I not make the gravy on sauté in the instant pot
Was SO good! Thank you for the time it takes to put these together. I know you get paid a little from advertising… but it takes time to test and take pics and get it just right. THANKS!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for taking the time to make it 🙂
I have a smaller roast – it’s about 1.5 pounds. How long should it be cooked?
Hi Rachel! I would decrease the cooking time by about 10 minutes, check it, and see if it’s tender!
This turned out great! Reduced the cook time by 10 minutes and got a nice texture, and the flavor really complimented the meat!
I’m so glad to hear it, Rachel!
My roast is about 1.15 lbs, how long should I cook it for? Excited to try this out!
Can’t wait to try this recipe, how long should I cook for if I have a 1.15 lb roast?
I would follow the recipe and reduce the cook time by 10-15 minutes. Cooking longer won’t really dry it out, just encourage tenderness.
If you substitute with corn starch it needs different directions. My husband worked hard on it, only to make the gravy lumpy. I tried to stop here m in slow motion, but it was too late. Lol. Recipe tastes great tho!!
I have made it with both cornstarch and arrowroot and it turns out wonderfully, no different directions are needed. You may just need to mix a bit of the gravy into either before adding to make a paste. Again, I’ve never experienced this with this recipe, but have with Turkey gravy.
This was a great, easy recipe!!! My venison roast was so tender (pulled apart with a fork) and the flavor was perfect. I think I could have served it to people who don’t like venison and they never would have known. Thanks for helping me cook such a yummy meal.
★★★★★
That’s exactly why I love it so much, too! Thanks, Kim!
I am not sure what went wrong, but I followed everything on the recipe. We have had excellent success with Instant Pot recipes, but this was terrible and we threw it away. The meat (Axis Roast) was tough, my guess is you needed to cook this 30 minutes or more longer, but after 90 minutes and then 25 minutes more – it should have been a slow cooker recipe.
★★
Sorry to hear you didn’t have success…we love this recipe and know many others have had great results. Roasts in the slow cooker take at least 5 hours on high or 8 on low, so no, it should no be a slow cooker recipe.
We had a 6 1/2 lb. bone-in cut. It was a young deer. I didn’t include the vegetables (I can’t eat onions). I substituted lots of garlic for the onions. I used 2 cups Bota Nighthawk Red wine and 2 cups homemade beef bone broth. I cooked it in the instant pot on high pressure for 75 minutes.
I used corn starch to thicken the broth we poured over mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts. It was a yummy treat we will DEFINITELY try again after a (hopefully) successful hunting season.
The same combination may work well with goose if you can determine a good cooking time!
★★★★★
This sounds like an EXCELLENT meal! Love the Brussels and the wine sounds lovely. Things are always better with homemade broth, aren’t they?
Fantastic recipe! I will keep this and use it anytime I make a venison roast or stew. I started from frozen so I have a few lessons learned. Because it was frozen, I didn’t get to sear it but it didn’t seem to make any negative difference. I set it for 45 minutes and put all the liquid and seasonings in. I had to use an onion soup mix since herbs are limited during quaratine! lol. I love the wine and balsamic together and I think that makes the sauce so delicious! Anyway, I decided to roast my veggies and potato because it was getting so late the the pc takes time to come to pressure. With that said, 60 minutes would have been better and I should have followed your directions on that note, at a minimum. Again, it was frozen and 45 minutes lead to a cooked and tender roast. 60 minutes would have had it falling apart, fork tender, which I prefer. This will be my forever recipe for a venison roast. I’ve made many and this was by far the best! Thank you….
★★★★★
I’m so glad it worked for you, sounds like a yummy dinner!
This recipe was east to follow and delicious. I used beef broth because I do not like wine and didn’t have any, but it turned out just fine. We process our deer ourselves usually and I used what my dad and I call the “football roast” from the hind quarter. It looks like the roast pictured in this recipe was a flatter cut of meat and mine was more round…like a football. Because of this, my roast was not fall apart tender in the middle, however it didn’t take much effort to shred either. If I use my football roast again I may add 10-20 minutes extra next time. Oh! and I added a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. Other than that (and it wasn’t even a big deal) this recipe was delicious and I definitely recommend it. It’s bookmarked for good in my “Favorite Recipes”.
★★★★★
Dry as heck… ruined my venison. Miserable recipe
★
sorry to hear that! would never want to ruin your harvest, let me know if I can ever help you troubleshoot.
If your cooking your back straps or tenderloin in a instapot your not in the right frame of mind.if your not comfortable with instapot, stick to the grill. Cheers
Very tasty! Family loved it. I used a top round and a bottom round on venison. No matter how I cook them they still always seems a little dry.
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed!
I didn’t have any red wine so I used beef stock. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out very well! The venison I had was gifted to me and was harvested from “a fat doe” so it was very tender and tasty.
Thank you for this great recipe.
★★★★★
Delicious!
This is one of the juiciest venison roasts I’ve ever made! And so easy. Will definitely be using this recipe again, thanks!
★★★★★
I’m SO GLAD!!
I’m looking to try this recipe with a 3.5 lbs deer roast.. what cook time would you recommend for this. Thanks can’t wait to try it.
You can follow the recipe as is and add 10 minutes if you need to!
This sounds amazing! Any suggestions for a moose roast or could I follow this? Thanks!
You sure can! I’d follow it exactly.
First recipe I made using my instant pot. I used a roast from last year that had been thawed and followed the recipe exactly. The veggies came out great but the meat was tough and dry. Could have been because it was an older piece of meat that had been thawed? My husband still ate it. I only ate the veggies. Will try again with a fresh piece of venison.
★★★
New to my instant pot and also new to wild game! But my bf has added both to my life recently! I have a 2lb frozen roast. Do I still sear the frozen roast before pressure cooking?? Thanks
This recipe turned out amazing using front shoulder roasts. The parsnips are a great call. My wife is very sensitive to “gamey” dishes and she loved this one. Great job. We’re saving this one and will share it.
Can you use a regular pressure cooker instead of the instant pot?
I imagine you can, but we have not tested this in our kitchen.
This turned out terribly dry, unediblely dry. Followed the recipe, I did reduce the time because I thought 60 minutes was too long, but even 40 minutes was too long. Venison roasts have not fat. Ruined something we love.
★
Hi Kris – we hate to hear you didn’t have great results. We have fantastic results when we do the FULL 60 minutes because the roast has time to break down and absorb the juices. Venison is a lean meat, and many roasts have little fat, so we need to give them enough time to cook so the connective tissue has time to break down to help tenderize the meat. Please be mindful to follow a recipe exactly before leaving a negative review that hurts someone’s business; I can assure you all recipes on this site are tested multiple times before publication.
Tried it tonight and the results were very good. Used Moose Baron roast. To all who were disappointed with this recipe because it was too dry, keep in mind every cut on a animal is different. With a drier cut, compensate with a au jus. Also, don’t be shy on the olive oil as venison should have all fat removed.
★★★★
Thanks for trying, Ryan!
Hi! Based on the comments and your replies, it seems you would err on the side of of cooking the roast longer rather than shorter? I’m extremely hesitant to cook wild game or truly pasture raised/grass fed beef in the IP due to tough meat as a result in the past. I do, however, tend to decrease the cooking time when following recipes meant for “grocery store” meat, because I thought grass fed/pasture/wild meat
cooked FASTER than conventional meat. Is this incorrect?? Thank you in advance for your help with this matter!!
This is interesting! I would say the opposite. When we eat beef and pork it’s truly pasture-raised from a farm down the road. I find the animals have more muscle and less fat which required a longer cook time at a lower temperature. This is so the connective tissue and muscle can appropriately break down and absorb cooking liquid. I think the IP or slow cooker is great for this. If you’re nervous to try the instant pot, give this easier recipe a shot in the slow cooker: https://www.missallieskitchen.com/venison-roast/
I used 1890s dark chocolate salmon vinegar instead of basalmic. I also used zucchini squash and yucca fries as side dishes
Such an amazing recipe and I will be sharing it!
★★★★★
Circe here… Not salmon… Chocolate Basalmic
This was the most tender venison roast ever! I didn’t have Herbs de Provence so made the substitution of Italian seasoning and added some fresh rosemary. The flavor was okay… Next time I would definitely buy the recommended seasoning to see how much be different the flavor is.