Easy Sheet Pan Venison Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos)
These Easy Sheet Pan Venison Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos) are crispy tater tots topped with shredded meat from a slow cooker venison roast, shredded cheese, and all of your favorite nacho toppings.What do you do when you have a 7-year-old daughter obsessed with tater tots, and a dad like me who is obsessed with nachos? In our house, we make Tater Tot Nachos. Or as we like to call them – Totchos! WHAT ARE TOTCHOS?Remember when you'd stroll into your school cafeteria to the smell of tater tots and you knew it was going to be a great lunch? Those were the good old days. When a crispy golden tater tot only needed a simple dip in ketchup to be the best thing you had ever eaten in your entire short life.Fast-forward to now. You're in your 40's. Tater tots still rule. May you eat them at 2:00 a.m. after the bar closes. Maybe you serve them up as the perfect accompaniment for sloppy joe night with your kids. Now is the time to step up your Tater Game and make Tater Tot Nachos!Tater Tot Nachos, aka Totchos, are nachos where tater tots take the place of the tortilla chips. Mix up the toppings while the tots spend 20 minutes getting crispy in the oven and you’ve got a hearty 2:00 a.m. snack, or even family dinner.Top those tots with shredded meat from a venison neck roast and you've got a little piece of heaven served up on a sheet pan.SLOW COOKER VENISON ROAST RECIPEUsing the slow cooker is the easiest way to get flavorful, tender and juicy meat from your venison roast. It’s so easy to do! This is literally a get-up in the morning, set it and forget it kind of venison roast recipe. At the end of the day, you’ll have a cozy, protein packed tater tot dish that celebrates the beauty of your deer harvest.A shoulder roast or a neck roast like I use here needs to be cooked like a pot roast. I used a Crock Pot, but I'm also a huge fan of using a Dutch oven. Low and slow, then pull the meat apart, ideally off the bones.Another rule for cooking venison roasts is that the younger the animal, the more tender it will be, and the less you need to cook it. A yearling mule deer will take much less time than a 5-year-old buck.VENISON NECK ROASTI love cooking with venison neck roasts because they are loaded with connective tissue. And in the absence of internal fat, connective tissue, which melts when cooked slowly under moist conditions, provides that luxurious texture you want in a good pot roast. Other good substitutions for this slow cooker recipe are whole deer shoulders, big shoulder roasts from larger animals, or shanks.CWD TRANSPORTATION GUIDELINESI prefer bone-in deer neck roasts, but I mainly hunt in North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana where there are cases of chronic wasting disease. CWD transportation guidelines don't allow me to transport the head or spinal column (including a bone-in neck roast), across state lines back into North Dakota. It is true that CWD has never crossed the species barrier to humans, but better safe than sorry. You should still harvest all that great deer neck meat, but you need to bone out the neck when field dressing.VENISON BARBACOAI chose to make Venison Barbacoa in order to achieve the Mexican flavors I wanted for these Tater Tot Nachos. Venison Barbacoa is a little spicy but not too spicy for my 7-year-old daughter. The long braise process of Barbacoa works perfectly on the tough, sinewy deer neck roast. The meat cooks very slowly, and all that connective tissue dissolves into the broth and makes everything rich and delicious.To season the meat, I used my homemade taco seasoning that I use on everything from Breakfast Tacos to Venison Steak Fajita Lettuce Cups.DISNEY WORLD TOTCHOSTotchos are even a popular menu item ($10.49) at Woody's Lunch Box in the Hollywood Studios Park at Disney World. The Disney World Totchos are "Potato Barrels coated with Beef and Bean Chili, Shredded Cheese and signature Queso with Tomatoes and Corn Chips finished with Sour Cream and a sprinkle of Green Onions."PERSONALIZE YOUR TOTCHOSAs with nachos, it is easy to customize these Venison Totchos to your personal preference when making them. Start with a foundation of tater tots, top with your choice of cheeses, tomatoes, onions, black olives, and jalapenos before being finished off with salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream.This kid-friendly venison roast recipe is perfect for a fun weeknight family meal, or a game day appetizer to share with friends. The best part is that you only need 1 cup of the cooked and shredded deer meat you’ll get from this neck roast recipe, so you can use the rest to fill tacos, enchiladas, or breakfast burritos throughout the week!You might also want to check out my recipe for Barbacoa-Style Venison Neck Roast Tacos.WILD GAME FOR WEEKNIGHT DINNERSAfter a long day of work, it's not always easy to face your kitchen and whip up dinner. But I hope this Easy Sheet Pan Venison Totchos Recipe and my other venison recipes will give you inspiration and motivation you need to get excited about cooking every night.If you are headed our way for North Dakota deer season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.CONNECT WITH ME AND JOIN OUR WILD GAME COOKING COMMUNITYIf you make this Easy Sheet Pan Venison Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos) Recipe, I’d love for you to join our community and connect with me so we can all see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #wildgameandfishDid you enjoy this Easy Sheet Pan Venison Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos) Recipe? Be sure to leave a 5-star rating RIGHT HERE!
Ingredients
Venison Neck Roast
- 1 venison neck roast (deer or antelope)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 cups venison or beef broth
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 3 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos)
- 1 pound tater tots
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons Taco Seasoning
- 1 cup cooked and shredded venison neck roast
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- Pico de Gallo, sour cream, guacamole, black olives, pickled jalapenos
Instructions
Venison Neck Roast
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and sear the neck until itis brown all over.
- Put neck roast and all other ingredients in a slow cooker and cook, covered, on the HIGH setting, until the meat falls of the bone, between 6 and 8 hours.
- Pull all the meat from the bones and shred with forks or tongs. Discard the bones.
Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos)
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, then line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine tater tots, olive oil, and my Homemade Taco Seasoning and toss well to coat.
- Transfer the tater tots to the lined baking sheet and place in the oven at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- Remove tater tots from the oven and spread 1 cup of the cooked and shredded venison neck roast evenly on top.
- Next, sprinkle the shredded cheese on top and return to the oven and cook for another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Remove the pan from the oven and add your favorite nacho toppings like Pico de Gallo, sour cream, guacamole, black olives, or pickled jalapenos as we did here. Serve immediately.
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