Juniper-Braised Venison Arm Roast with Green Onions and Wild Mushroom Sauce
- We Took Cooking by Cut to the Meatgistics Podcast - September 22, 2026
- LIVE! Cooking by Cut: The Wild Game Butchery and Cookbook We Wanted to Write - September 1, 2026
- World Sauces for Wild Game: Puerto Rican Pique - August 19, 2026
This recipe is deeply rooted in Native American culinary traditions, drawing on wild flavors that have nourished Indigenous communities for generations. Juniper berries, long used by native peoples for their medicinal and culinary properties, bring a subtle piney brightness that complements the rich venison. The green onions can easily be swapped for wild onions in the spring, echoing traditional foraging practices. Served alongside savory hominy, a staple food of Southeastern tribes like the Choctaw, this dish honors the past while remaining adaptable for the modern kitchen. The result? Tender, flavorful venison bathed in a profoundly aromatic sauce, perfectly balanced by the earthy hominy.
The venison arm roast is a flavorful yet often overlooked cut located between the shoulder blade and the shank. This hardworking muscle benefits from low and slow cooking, allowing its connective tissue to break down into fork-tender meat while developing rich, deep flavors. Unlike more well-known cuts like the loin, the arm roast requires patience. The reward is an intensely flavorful dish that melts in your mouth.
Want to learn more about the Arm Roast? Listen to Podcast Episode 162: Venison Arm Roasts and Shanks. In this episode, they dive deep into the Arm Roast and the Shanks, touching base on techniques, nuances, and recipes for these two delicious front shoulder cuts.
Serving Size: 4-6
Time to Make: 3 hours
Equipment: Dutch Oven
Also Works With: Any Big Game
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Juniper-Braised Venison Arm Roast with Green Onions and Wild Mushroom Sauce
4
servings15
minutes2
hoursKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2-3 lbs venison arm roast
1 Tbsp Kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp tallow or neutral oil
1 bunch green onions or ramps, chopped
4 ea garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp juniper berries
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 cups venison stock (sub low sodium beef broth)
2 ea bay leaves
1 spring fresh thyme
1 Tbsp maple syrup
- Hominy
1 can cooked hominy, drained and dried
1 Tbsp tallow or butter
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
- The Sauce
1-2 cups reserved cooking liquid
3 oz mushrooms (I used brown beech caps)
Preparation
- Pat the roast dry and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Heat tallow or oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the roast on all sides until deeply browned. Remove and set aside.
- Lower heat to medium. Add the green onions, garlic, and juniper berries. Sauté until softened.
Pour in the stock while scraping up any browned bits. Return the venison to the pot and add bay leaves, thyme, and maple syrup. - Cover and braise at 300°F (150°C) for 2 hours or until fork-tender.
- Strain and reserve the cooking liquid.
- Hominy
- Heat tallow or butter in a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat.
- In a bowl, season the hominy with the onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt.
- Add to the pan and cook until slightly crispy, stirring as needed.
- The Sauce
- In the same pan as the hominy, pour in the reserved cooking liquid while scraping up any browned bits.
- Add the mushrooms and let the sauce simmer for 3-5 minutes. Make sure it does not completely dry up.
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