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.
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
INGREDIENTS & KITCHEN TOOLS
The ingredients for this Instant Pot Roast are simple, yet give this recipe so much flavor with the most tender roast. Here is what you need:
Olive oil
Venison roast*
Dry red wine, like Cabernet
Balsamic vinegar
Herbs d’ Provence*
Salt, divided
Black Pepper
Yellow onion, cut into chunks
Carrots, cut into chunks
Parsnips, cut into chunks
Gold potatoes, cut into chunks
Arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
NOTES:
- Beef roast would work well, too!
- 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 broth or stock could be used to substitute, however, I have not tested that method.
Kitchen Tools:
You don’t need much to complete this quick and easy venison roast recipe. Just some simple kitchen tools that I always recommend having on hand:
- Instant Pot (of course!)
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting Board
STEP BY STEP | INSTANT POT VENISON ROAST RECIPE
Step 1: Turn the Instant Pot to “Saute” for 10 minutes.
Step 2: After about 3 minutes, when it is hot, add the oil and then the venison roast.
Step 3: Sear both sides of the meat until browned.
Step 4: When the “Saute” cycle has finished, add the red wine, balsamic vinegar, herbs d’ Provence, salt and pepper.
Step 5: Place the lid on the Instant Pot. Make sure the knob is set to “Sealing”.
Step 6: Set the Instant Pot to “Pressure Cook” or “Manual” on “High Pressure” for 60 minutes.
Step 7: Allow the course to run and allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 10 minutes then carefully perform a manual release.
Step 8: 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.
Step 9: 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.
Step 10: Allow the cycle to run and immediately perform a manual or quick release.
Step 11: Remove the vegetables and the venison from the pot. Simply shred the roast into chunks to serve.
Step 12: To make gravy, strain all of the pot juices into a medium sauce pot. 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.
NOTE:
- 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.
TIPS & TRICKS
The trick is to cook the meat on its own for an hour (1 hr). 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.
If your roast is frozen, make sure you remove it from the freezer and let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
HOW TO SERVE
We love serving this recipe as is, it is packed with veggies and the most tender and delicious meat. DON’T forget the gravy, it truly brings it all together. But, if you would prefer, you can leave the potatoes out of the instant pot and serve the roast and veggies over some creamy mashed potatoes.
STORING & REHEATING
If you have some leftover roast and are wanting to pack it away for lunches throughout the week. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can reheat in the microwave or stove top until warm.
Stick with me, kid. I’ll learn ya (J says this to me ALL the time, haha).
OTHER INSTANT POT RECIPES | VENISON RECIPES FOR THE INSTANT POT
If you love this recipe, you’ll LOVE my Instant Pot Venison Shepherd’s Pie. Make sure you also check out my Instant Pot Venison Stew Recipe, too! They are both easy to whip up and are sure to be a hit.
Lastly, you all have been LOVING my Venison Backstrap recipe, if you haven’t already, make sure you give it a try!
PrintInstant 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
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Lauren says
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!
Miss AK says
Hi Lauren! You could try beef stock! It won’t have the same flavor but that is what I would try!
Emery Ocampo says
Great recipe! Thank you for sharing this, will definitely try this one out! 🙂
Miss AK says
I’m so glad! Let me know what you think!
Ally Milligan says
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 !
Miss AK says
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
Ally Milligan says
Thank Ya for the cooking recommendations. I’m looking forward to yer other receipes.
Miss AK says
Of course! 🙂
Dean says
I did the frozen method and all turned out great. Thank you for recipe!
Miss AK says
That is AWESOME, Dean! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Erin says
Hi! Do you think we could use a frozen venison roast? How would that effect cooking time?
Miss AK says
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!
Erin says
Thank you! I will report back!
Katie H. says
Did you try the frozen venison? Curious how it turned out!
Miss AK says
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/
Gayle says
Do you think thawed is better than frozen- if I have the option to let it thaw would it be better?
Miss AK says
Yes – I always thaw if I can.
carolina says
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.
Miss AK says
I’m so sorry your results weren’t great! perhaps the roast may have needed more time.
John says
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.
Miss AK says
Interesting! Sorry to hear that, and that’s rather strange!
Paula says
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!!
Miss AK says
I’m so glad, Paula! Good luck to your husband!
Zach says
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!
Miss AK says
This makes me smile! SO glad you enjoyed!
william says
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).
Miss AK says
I’m so glad this worked with your frozen roast, William! Thanks so much for the awesome review!
Kathy Torres says
I tried your Red Wine Venison Roast today!!! This recipe is another keeper. Thanks so much!
Miss AK says
I’m SOOO glad, Kathy! Thank you for your comment 🙂
Jean says
Can I not make the gravy on sauté in the instant pot
Sarah says
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!
Miss AK says
Thank you so much for taking the time to make it 🙂
Rachael says
I have a smaller roast – it’s about 1.5 pounds. How long should it be cooked?
Miss AK says
Hi Rachel! I would decrease the cooking time by about 10 minutes, check it, and see if it’s tender!
Rachael says
This turned out great! Reduced the cook time by 10 minutes and got a nice texture, and the flavor really complimented the meat!
Miss AK says
I’m so glad to hear it, Rachel!
Sean says
My roast is about 1.15 lbs, how long should I cook it for? Excited to try this out!
Thomas says
Can’t wait to try this recipe, how long should I cook for if I have a 1.15 lb roast?
Miss AK says
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.
Adrienne says
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!!
Miss AK says
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.
Kim says
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.
Miss AK says
That’s exactly why I love it so much, too! Thanks, Kim!
Texans in Jerusalem says
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.
Miss AK says
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.
Cynthia says
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!
Miss AK says
This sounds like an EXCELLENT meal! Love the Brussels and the wine sounds lovely. Things are always better with homemade broth, aren’t they?
barbara schildt says
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….
Miss AK says
I’m so glad it worked for you, sounds like a yummy dinner!
Allison says
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”.
H raine says
Dry as heck… ruined my venison. Miserable recipe
Miss AK says
sorry to hear that! would never want to ruin your harvest, let me know if I can ever help you troubleshoot.
Ryan says
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
Sarah says
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.
Miss AK says
Glad you enjoyed!
Beth says
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.
Miss AK says
Delicious!
Amy says
This is one of the juiciest venison roasts I’ve ever made! And so easy. Will definitely be using this recipe again, thanks!
Miss AK says
I’m SO GLAD!!
jesse tousignant says
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.
Miss AK says
You can follow the recipe as is and add 10 minutes if you need to!
Holly says
This sounds amazing! Any suggestions for a moose roast or could I follow this? Thanks!
Miss AK says
You sure can! I’d follow it exactly.
Madison says
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.
Kris says
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
Kevin says
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.
Marisa says
Can you use a regular pressure cooker instead of the instant pot?
Miss AK says
I imagine you can, but we have not tested this in our kitchen.
Kris Rhodes says
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.
Miss AK says
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.
Ryan says
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.
Miss AK says
Thanks for trying, Ryan!
Lauren Fuller says
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!!
Miss AK says
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/
Circe says
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 says
Circe here… Not salmon… Chocolate Basalmic
Judy says
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.
Jessica says
Thank you for this recipe!! I made it with broth instead of wine. I cooked it for an hour and 10 minutes. I think I would do a bit longer next time so it will fall apart. I just cut it up and put it back in the juice and it was delicious!
Hossfly says
We made this tonight and followed the recipe as written. We used a Bogle Zinfandel wine. It was a fabulous meal. My wife and I thought it was one of the best venison roast recipes we have ever tried. This will definitely go in our rotation. Thank you for posting this.