My husband was a very successful deer hunter this past fall/winter and as a result we have venison in the freezer. I’ve never cooked venison before and was a little hesitant. Always heard venison tastes “gamey”. So I started off with venison stew, figured all the flavors and vegetables would cover any gamey taste. To my surprise it taste identical to beef stew!
We are a big fan of jerky and the dehydrator has been going pretty much non-stop. ( I love deer jerky, but that’s another post) With so much meat, and beef prices going through the roof, I thought venison would be better used to stretch our meat budget.
I’m pretty confident with soup and stews, so it was a natural transition. Was it a success? Would I be posting it here if it wasn’t? My daughter loved it so much she would eat two bowls at each sitting. Needless to say there was no left overs. Venison stew really tastes like beef stew.
The following recipe is a guideline. I’m a dash of this and a dash of that type of cook. Pour some of this in, a little of this, a little more, and…that looks good. So use your own judgement, get creative and feel free to substitute.
Venison Stew Recipe
- 3-4 lbs venison (cubed into 1/2-1″ pieces)
- 32 oz beef stock (homemade from shank leg bones)
- 16 oz potato stock (water left over from boiling potatoes)
- 20 oz can tomato sauce
- Olive oil for browning
- 1 large onion
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 frozen bag mixed soup vegetables
- 3 potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 5 bay leaves
- 3 TBSP dried parsley
- 1 tsp seasoning salt
- 1 TBSP black pepper
Directions
1. Cube the venison, season well with seasoning salt and pepper
2. Pour 2 TBSP olive oil in skillet, sear & brown venison, do not cook all the way through.
3. Place browned venison in large stock pot
4. Alternate placing venison, vegetables, and seasonings in stock pot.
5. Add liquids and stir thoroughly
6. Heat to boiling
7. Set to LOW and simmer for 3-4 hours and stir occasionally.
8. The venison stew can be cooked, or left on low for many more hours as the flavors continue to blend. In only improves with time.
In the past few years I have learned to love the taste of deer meat. In Eastern Nebraska corn fed whitetail tastes just like Angus beef. Western Nebraska mule deer fed on sage need a little different seasonings and preparation. So my mother-in-law bought me a wild game cookbook.
If you don’t have home grown venison harvested by your favorite hunter with a rifle, muzzle loader, or bow then you can order venison or other wild game online.
The Sporting Chef’s Better Venison Cookbook
Real Meat Venison Jerky Dog Treats (12 oz)Buffalo Bills 10oz 100% Farm Raised 7Gourmet Game Steaks – Avg 2 LB Case (all sizes are approximate)Venison Medallions – 3 pieces, 4 oz eaVenison Ground Meat – 1 lb
