This rich and hearty Venison Stew Recipe is loaded with succulent venison, cubed potatoes, and carrots. Red wine is used to give the stew a rich, deep flavor. Serve this flavorful stew with homemade Jalapeno Cheddar Sourdough Bread or your favorite crusty bread to sop up the rich sauce.
Why This Recipe Works
We're currently spending a few months Montana. We actually claimed residency here as of this year! Although we'll still spend time in San Diego, we're now officially Montanans, yahoo!
I've been learning to cook for two, instead of four, since the kids are back in San Diego. This means a lot of leftovers, having friends over for dinner, and making "to-go bags."
While rummaging through our way-too-small freezer and pulling out anything I could to make more room, I found some promising ingredients that gave me the idea for this venison stew.
Shoved under a massive amount of steaks (that Scott purchased when I was still in San Diego) were some elk steaks. Did you know elk is considered venison? If not, you do now!
Digging deeper, I found red-neck bacon (don't ask, I think it's a Montana thing), Ziploc bags full of diced stewed tomatoes, and homemade chicken broth.
I was hoping to find some frozen peas, but no such luck. I decided to use my Ninja Foodie pressure cooker to make the stew since I hadn't played with it in a while.
I was really pleased with the result, so I thought I should blog about it. Now, on to my Venison Stew Recipe...
What Goes Into This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
- Venison — Either elk or deer meat can be used in this venison stew recipe.
- Wine — A deep, dark wine like burgundy, merlot, cab, or any red blend goes great in venison stew.
- Herbs — Thyme and sage go great in this recipe, but you can also use any of the following: bay leaf, parsley, savory, or oregano.
How to Make Venison Stew
Press "start" on the pressure cooker and select "saute/high" then select "start."
Saute the chopped bacon until it renders some of its fat. If using oil instead, heat oil.
Season the stew meat with salt, paprika, black pepper, and crushed red pepper.
Brown the meat in batches, making sure not to crowd the pressure cooker.
Add diced onion and garlic to the last batch of meat and saute until caramelized.
Return the remaining meat to the pot, along with the broth. Deglaze the pot, scraping up any brown bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Add diced tomatoes, thyme, and sage. Stir to combine.
Lock the lid in place, and select "pressure cook." Set the vent to "seal" and the time to 15 minutes, then press "start."
When the time is up, "natural release" for 5 minutes then finish with a "quick release."
When the valve drops, remove the lid and stir in the potatoes and carrots.
Lock the lid in place again and select "pressure cook." Set the vent to "seal." Set the time to 5 minutes and press "start."
When the time is up, "natural release" for 5 minutes, followed by "quick pressure release."
Meanwhile, whisk wine and flour together to form a paste. Stir in ½ cup of the hot broth from the pot until you have a smooth slurry.
Pour the slurry back into the pot, and stir to combine.
Select "saute" and "start." Bring the stew to a boil, stirring until the stew is thickened.
Shut off the pressure cooker, the venison stew is now ready to serve.
Stove-Top Venison stew Recipe
Don't let the fact that you don't have a pressure cooker stop you from making this yummy venison stew. Just follow these easy stove-top directions:
- Fry bacon in a 6-quart Dutch oven, or heat oil, if not using bacon.
- Season meat with salt, paprika, black pepper, and crushed red pepper.
- Remove bacon from the pot and fry the meat in batches over medium heat.
- Add diced onion and garlic to the last batch of meat and saute until caramelized.
- Return the remaining meat to the pot, along with the beef broth.
- Deglaze the pot, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom.
- Add diced tomatoes, thyme, and sage. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and cook, covered, for one hour.
- Add potatoes and carrots, and continue to simmer, covered, for one more hour.
- Whisk wine and flour together to form a paste. Add ½ cup of hot broth to the paste and stir to make a slurry.
- Pour the slurry back into the pot, and stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil, while stirring, until the stew is thickened.
Recipe FAQ's and Expert Tips
Elk is delicious and less gamey than deer meat. It's my favorite game meat of all. It has a very mild flavor and can be substituted in recipes that call for beef.
Elk meat is very lean. When cooking with ground elk meat in particular, consider adding some fat to help bind the meat and for added moisture.
Elk is lower in calories, fat, and cholesterol than beef. One pound of elk has 662 calories and 8.7 grams of fat. Beef, on the other hand, has 1320 calories a pound and 89 grams of fat. Given these numbers, elk is obviously the healthier of the two.
- If you want to make this venison stew recipe but don't have venison, you can buy some here, or use beef or lamb instead. The cooking time can probably be reduced since beef and lamb are not as lean as venison and tend to cook faster.
- Make sure the meat is cut into the same size cubes so that it cooks evenly.
- Other great additions to this stew would be celery, peas, and mushrooms.
- If you don't want to add wine, just stir the flour in with water or cold broth.
- Experiment with different herbs, including basil, oregano, rosemary, or bay leaf.
- This stew is hearty enough on its own, but if you want to be extra naughty, serve it over creamy mashed potatoes, oh my!
Related Recipes
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Venison Stew Recipe (using a pressure cooker)
Equipment
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 4 slices chopped thick-cut bacon (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)
- 2 lbs. venison/elk meat (cubed)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 4 cups broth (beef or chicken)
- 1 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. sage
- 3 medium russet potatoes (cubed)
- 1 cup roughly chopped carrots
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup red wine
Instructions
- Press “start” on the pressure cooker and select “saute/high” then select “start.”
- Saute the chopped bacon until it renders its fat.
- Season the stew meat with salt, paprika, black pepper, and crushed red pepper.
- Brown meat in batches, making sure not to crowd the pressure cooker.
- Add diced onion and garlic to the last batch of meat and saute until caramelized.
- Return the remaining meat to the pot, along with the broth. Deglaze the pot, scraping up any brown bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add diced tomatoes, thyme, and sage. Stir to combine.
- Lock the lid in place, and select “pressure cook.” Set the vent to “seal” and the time to 15 minutes, then press “start.”
- When the time is up, "natural release" for "5 minutes" then finish with "quick release."
- Remove the lid when the valve drops and add the potatoes and carrots.
- Lock the lid in place again and select “pressure cook.” Set the vent to “seal.” Set the time to 5 minutes and press “start.”
- When the time is up, “natural release” for 5 minutes, followed by “quick pressure release.”
- Meanwhile, whisk wine and flour together to form a paste. Stir in ½ cup of the hot broth from the pot until you have a smooth slurry.
- Pour the slurry back into the pot, and stir to combine.
- Select “saute” and “start.” Bring the stew to a boil, stirring until thickened.
Notes
- If you don't have venison, you can use beef or lamb instead. The cooking time can probably be reduced since beef and lamb are not as lean as venison and tend to cook faster.
- Make sure the meat is cut into the same size cubes so that it cooks evenly.
- Other great additions to this stew would be celery, peas, and mushrooms.
- If you don't want to add wine, just stir the flour in with water, cold broth.
- Experiment with different herbs, including basil, oregano, rosemary, or bay leaf.
- This stew is hearty enough on its own, but if you want to be extra naughty, serve it over creamy mashed potatoes, oh my!
Shevaun says
This was great. I had a bunch of cherry tomatoes and used those instead of a can of diced tomatoes. I added 3 cups of barley and doubled the liquid and omitted the flour. Served with some buns, this fed 8 adults & a pile of kids. Ill make it again for sure.
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Shevaun! I love the changes you made. I will have to try your version next time. ❤️