venison

The Best Venison Stew You'll Ever Eat

January 9, 2020

This scratch-made venison stew recipe is easy to make and the deer meat is fall-apart tender. It’s packed with veggies and simple ingredients.

venison stew in a terra-cotta bowl with a thyme leaf

If you missed this post on Instagram or you’re new around here – surprise! My husband Jared and I are expecting our first baby in July 2020. Along with many blessings, I was experiencing some pretty serious food aversions in my first trimester. The biggest one really being meat, which was weird for me! A few weeks ago, I finally made this venison stew. I tried it, and it is still my favorite meal I’ve eaten since finding out I was pregnant. Go figure!

It was really odd in the beginning to be totally turned off by the sight or smell of venison since we eat some much of it in our home. (Keep your eyes out for my Venison Cookbook in Fall 2020!!!) When I was finally ready to try my hand at eating red meat again, I knew this would be the perfect dish.

carrots, onion and celery in a dutch oven

The meat gets fall-apart tender and the stew is PACKED with nourishing veggies and a rich and flavorful broth. The recipe is identical to the insanely popular recipe I wrote a few years ago for Instant Pot Venison Stew. It’s just adapted for making on the stovetop, which sometimes I prefer. There’s something about stew simmering on the stove, you know? But, if you’re an Instant Pot lover and you’re short on time, make sure you check out that method, too.

potatoes, carrots, onion and celery in a dutch oven

How do you get venison to be tender in stew?

This is one of my most frequently asked questions. And for you, I have two tips.

Remove all sinew.
Sear and braise.

What is sinew, you ask?

Sinew is the silvery connective tissue that you see running through your venison. When it isn’t removed, it causes venison to curl up like a rubber band and get really tough.

I love stew because you can cut venison into small, bite-sized pieces and remove the sinew as you go. This helps each bite of venison to be ultra-tender.

Searing and braising are great for venison.

After you cut the venison into bite-sized pieces and remove the sinew, you’re going to want to sear it in a pan to add flavor. I also happen to think that searing the meat first and then cooking it low and slow helps to tenderize things.

Once you sear the venison, it gets removed from the pot until all of the veggies have been sauteed and the liquid has been added. When that happens, you add the seared venison back to the pan and it braises (cooks low and slow in liquid) in the broth with the veggies.

I promise you this results in the most tender stew you’ve ever had in your life. Now, the longer you can let this simmer the better. I like at least an hour, but two hours is better.

Love easy & healthy venison recipes? Check out all of my favorites here!

The Best Venison Stew You'll Ever Have

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Author: Miss AK

Print Recipe

Description

This scratch-made venison stew recipe is easy to make and the deer meat is fall-apart tender. It’s packed with veggies and simple ingredients. Gluten free, dairy free, paleo, Whole30 friendly.

Scale

Ingredients

1 lb. venison, diced with all sinew removed – I used leg meat*
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 and 1/2 cups diced potatoes, I left the skin on (about 3 medium potatoes)
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. herbs de Provence*
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1 15 0z. can diced tomatoes
4 cups unsalted beef broth
3–4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Dice the venison into bite-sized chunks, being sure to remove any of the silvery sinew tissue. Leaving this on makes the meat tough.
Add the olive oil to a large pot or Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat.
When the oil is hot, allow the venison to saute for 5-7 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Remove the venison from the pot and set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion. Allow the vegetables to saute for about 8-10 minutes, or until they begin to soften.
Then, add the garlic, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper and cook for an additional minute before adding the tomatoes, broth and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and bring the stew to a boil.
Once a boil is reached, turn the heat to low, cover the pot with a lid, and allow the stew to simmer for 1-2 hours until the venison is tender.
Serve hot (is amazing with crusty bread).

Notes

beef would work well, too! You can use any cut of venison, backstrap would be lovely. Leg meat is tough, so this recipe helps it to be tender and delish!
If you want to make this in the slow cooker, saute the venison in a pan and add it to the slow cooker with all of the other ingredients. Let it cook for 4-5 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Head here for an Instant Pot version.
herbs de Provence is a French spice blend. It’s lovely and Wal Mart actually has a great organic variety for under $3. If you have to substitute, use Italian seasoning.

Braised Venison Short Ribs

November 5, 2019

These Venison Short Ribs are braised in a classic red wine and tomato sauce making them tender and delicious. Make your guests fall in love with wild game.

venison short ribs on a light blue plate with polenta. Knife, fork and a blue stripe linen

This venison short ribs post is sponsored by The Honest Bison. All thoughts and opinions remain my own and I’m proud to partner with brands I love. Thanks for supporting the growth of Miss AK!

My oh MY how I love short ribs. The first time I worked with Venison Short Ribs I was super skeptical. They aren’t as meaty or fatty as beef ribs which had me a bit worried.

But, I stuck to my bread and butter with short ribs, which is to sear them off, hard, and braise them for about 2 hours in a super flavorful liquid. Not rocket science, so I wasn’t too hopeful.

BOY, were my socks knocked off. These are absolutely divine. In this recipe, I used venison short ribs from The Honest Bison because I didn’t have ay ribs left from our deer harvest last year. When I pulled them out of the braising liquid, the bones slid right out. This is always a good sign.

I took my first bite right out of the pan and wow. I’ll tell you what WOW. Fall apart tender, flavorful, balanced and not gamey – this recipe is a real winner, friends.

raw short ribs from a deer on a white cutting board

If you’re dying to get some ribs in your freezer, please do yourself a favor and head on over to The Honest Bison and get you some! I like to make short ribs for Christmas Day because I can sear them off and braise them on the 23rd or 24th and just leave them in the pan that they cooked in until I’m ready to heat them up and serve.

When I serve them, I usually do it over a steaming pile of polenta, but risotto or mashed potatoes would be lovely, too. I know you’re going to FLIP over this extra special recipe!

seared deer short ribs stacked on a platter

How do you prepare venison short ribs so they aren’t tough?

I have a really hard time removing every last bit of silverskin from the ribs, so I do the best I can. However, on the back of the ribs, I made a small incision, not all the way through, just to break the silverskin and allow the meat to soak up the flavors of the braising liquid. Feel free to comment below if you have questions. I’m here to answer them!

Because deer ribs are smaller than beef, I don’t cut them into individual pieces. I cut them into chunks of 3-4 ribs per chunk and sear them that way. It helps fit everything in the pan, but the meat doesn’t overcook too fast.

venison short ribs in braising liquid with rosemary sprigs

What’s in the braising liquid?

This is a very simple and traditional brasing liquid that combines my favorite parts of different recipes I’ve tried. There’s dry red wine (optional, can sub for beef stock), beef or venison stock, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. That’s all!

braised short ribs in liquid falling off the bone

Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram if you make this recipe! And, check out my red wine Instant Pot venison pot roast!