Sunday, December 21, 2008

Venison Stew

Tonight's venison stew was good! Here is the recipe I used, more or less (adapted from Lone Star Legacy Cookbook):

1 pound of venison, cut into bite-sized chunks, with all traces of fat and tendon removed
vinegar
1/8 cup flour
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup hot water
2 cloves garlic, diced
Tabasco sauce, to taste
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 medium onion ( I sliced it...should have been quartered)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
cayenne pepper, to taste
2 carrots, peeled, halved, and cut into chunks
1 parsnip, peeled, halved, and cut into chunks
2 small Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

First, clean and cut the venison, then soak it for about 2 hours in water with about 3 tablespoons of vinegar; then rinse thoroughly. Dredge meat in flour and brown it, in a large Dutch oven, in the bacon drippings. Add hot water, wine, garlic, parsley, thyme, basil, marjoram, onion, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and let it cook for about two hours (check occasionally and add water if needed). Then, add the carrots, parsnip, and potatoes and let is simmer for another hour.

What I would have done differently:
Add more wine about 30 minutes before the stew is ready to serve...maybe 1/4 cup.
Add a bit of flour to thicken the broth as it's close to serving time if the liquid isn't thick enough. Try some additional veggies (and don't slice the onion) like, perhaps, turnips, maybe some winter squash, etc. Also, more of the veggies...could have used more carrots and another parsnip or two.

The venison was tasty and tender, with not even a hint of gamey taste. It's amazingly lean, so I could probably get away with eating twice what I actually ate...which makes me think I should go re-heat the leftovers.

1 comment:

Me, You, or Ellie said...

That sounds great. The few times I've had venison it's been stringy and gamy. Wine! Wine is the solution to everything!

Ellie