Big Game Pot Roast

[April B.]

Big Game Pot Roast

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 2 1/2 pound deer -- antelope, elk, moose, or bear roast, up
to 3 lb
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 10 1/2 ounce can condensed French onion soup
1/2 cup water -- broth, or wine
1 bay leaf
1 rutabaga -- peeled and cut into 1" cubes
4 medium carrots -- up to 6 cut into 2" pieces
3 stalks celery -- cut into 2" pieces

Heat oven to 350°. In large plastic food-storage bag, combine
flour,
basil, marjoram, thyme, salt, and pepper; shake to mix. Add meat;
shake
to coat. In Dutch oven, brown meat on both sides in oil. Add
remaining
flour mixture, soup, water, and bay leaf. Heat to boiling. Remove
from
heat; cover. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Add rutabaga, carrots, and
celery.
Recover. Bake until meat and vegetables are tender, 1 to 1 1/2
hours
longer. Discard bay leaf before serving.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Notes: Use the shoulder roast, rump roast, or bottom round from
any big
game for this classic pot roast. If you've had a butcher cut up
your
animal, you will have some packages marked "chuck," which are
perfect
for pot roasting.