Recipe of the Week: Red Wine Venison Stew

The following recipe for Red Wine Venison Stew is from reader Kelly in Montana. Kelly says: “This is an old French recipe that requires 8+ hours to marinate the meat, but it is worth the wait.”

Ingredients
  • 2 to 3 pounds of venison, cubed
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped white or yellow onions
  • 3 medium carrots, sliced to 1/4-inch thickness
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
  • Up to 3/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
  • Up to 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 3/4 cups beef stock (Preferably fresh rather than from b-cubes.)
  • 5 slices bacon, chopped up into chunks just under bite-size
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
  • 1 to 1-1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
Directions
  1. Place the venison, onions, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, and the herbs in a large casserole dish or glass mixing bowl.
  2. Pour the red wine and beef stock over the venison, and cover it. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. I do mine for 12+ hours, overnight.
  3. Drain the liquid marinade and set it aside for use as described later.
  4. In a large saucepan over high heat, cook the bacon until it turns crisp.
  5. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
  6. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of bacon grease from the pan. Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery in the bacon grease for 5 minutes, until the vegetables turn soft. Transfer them to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set it aside for a moment.
  7. Toss the venison with the flour and brown it in the remaining bacon grease.
  8. Once all sides of the meat are browned, stir in the tomato paste and cook the mixture for 1 minute.
  9. Add the mushrooms, cooked vegetables, crisped bacon, and the marinade liquid that you set aside into the pan with the browned venison.
  10. Cook the mixture over low heat, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The venison stew is done when the meat and vegetables are tender and the sauce is thickened.  If covered, it can be simmered at very low heat for up to two hours, depending on the timing of your dinner serving.
SERVING

Serve the stew with green vegetables and mashed potatoes or perhaps rice, to soak up the juices.

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!