Venison Stew

Cubed venison is coated with seasoned flour and sauteed
in olive oil before the rest of the ingredients are added.

Venison used to strike me as an awful meat.  How could someone eat Bambi?

All that changed when we travelled to New Zealand.  Deer is raised domestically, much like sheep, goats, and cows, and appears often in their restaurant's repertoires.  Domestic venison is less gamey than wild caught, and the taste is pleasant and mild compared to some other big game.  There is another reason to consider including this in your menu box.

Venison is very lean.  8 ounces of venison has about 9 grams of fat.  The next lowest compared protein I used is salmon which has about 13 g of fat for the same 8 ounces.  Chicken has has even more.  Other red meats go up in the fat grams content from there.  Because it isn't fatty, the meat may be tough if not cooked slowly as in stew meat.  This recipe was devised by looking at several different ones on the internet.   Give it a try!

Serves:  4                   
Prep time:  about 15 minutes
Cook time:  1 hour, plus or minus 15 minutes

1 pound venison, cubed
1/4 cup flour seasoned with a sprinkle of paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, thyme, and oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2  cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup fresh grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered (or half a can of diced tomatoes will work in a pinch)
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
pinch of dried thyme, if you have it
1 bay leaf
1 cup red wine
2 cups broth
Salt and pepper
Crusty Italian bread

Lining up the ingredients

Toss the venison cubes with the seasoned flour. 



Browning the seasoned and floured meat.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a thick skillet with a lid or stew pot.  Sear the venison for a few minutes.  Add the onion, celery, and carrots and saute for about 3 minutes.  Add in the garlic, tomatoes, basil, thyme and bay leaf to the pan.   Season with salt and pepper.  Add the red wine and stir up the bits in the bottom of the pan.

Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 45 minutes or until the venison is tender.  Add more stock while cooking if necessary.

Serve the stew in soup bowls with the crusty bread and a side green salad.

Calories per serving comes in about 365.  More than 100% RDA is represented by vitamin B12 and zinc.  Healthy doses of copper, iron, phosphorous, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, selenium, niacin, and vitamin B6 are also included in this stew.  A thick slice of crusty bread adds another 150 calories.  You will want to soak up all the juices with the bread.

The stew is flavorful and filling.  Ask your butcher if he can order some for you.

- Kim Fielding