jochanaan wrote:...My rancher stepfather used to say that a good cut of meat didn't need sauce.

Well need is one thing and preference is another.
However I would disagree for one particular recipe, .... Venison Ribs.
Venison ribbs have a problem. I have never found anyone that really expressed a desire for deer tallow. I would describe it as leaving one's mouth as if one had been chewing old candles.
The tallow in the ribs is layered thinly between the meat.
The problem is that venison tallow congeals at a much higher temperature than beef tallow or Hog lard, and just does not taste good.
I have known hunters who threw away the ribs or gave them to the dogs. However I developed my own recipe for cooking.
-- Divide ribs into desired size serving pieces.
-- Cover with water in a pot and simmer until the meat is ready to fall off the bones (an hour or two but go by condition not time)
-- Place in 400 degree oven on a rack over a catch pan and slather repeatedly with barbecue sauce to preven drying or burning of the meat for another hour or so.
-- Serve hot.
CAUTiON:
Do not pour water from simmering down the drain unless you want to call the Roto-Rooter man
I consider such properly prepared venison ribs some of the best eating from the deer. You have to get the tallow out. You can make a very nice candle out of the tallow from the simmering after you clarify it.
I never met anyone that I could not learn something from.