This afternoon I’ve assembled a venison stew for our New Year’s Eve celebration. The ingredients:
2 lbs venison cut in chunks
4 slices of bacon cut in squares
4 medium potatoes cut in squares
6 medium carrots sliced
2 medium onions chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup flour
2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup A-1 steak sauce
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup burgundy wine
1/2 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced.
I used to work with someone who went hunting regularly, so got venison from him, but this time I ordered venison stew meat online, from Broken Arrow Ranch.
Start by cooking the bacon in a skillet.
When the bacon is crisp, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon and brown the venison cubes in the bacon fat.
When the venison is browned all over, remove it to an oven-proof casserole dish that has a cover. I use a Le Creuset dutch oven. Spread it out in the bottom of the casserole and add the fried bacon on top of it.
Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and garlic powder over the meat, and then sprinkle the flour over that.
Saute the carrots and onions in the same pan that you browned the venison in. It you need to, add a bit more oil, and saute until the vegetables are softened slightly.
Spread the sauteed veggies over the flour in the casserole, and place the potato chunks on top of that.
In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the beef stock, mustard, catsup, and A-1 sauce.
Carefully pour this over all in the casserole, and pour the burgundy wine over that. (I actually used Pinot Noir, left over from my Boeuf Bourgignon from last week.)
Put the cover on the casserole and bake in a 325 degree oven for 3 hours. Half an hour before it is done, take the casserole out and add the mushrooms.
Return it to the oven for another half hour.
This is a very yummy stew — I’ve made it in the past and it is always delicious. Here’s hoping tonight’s is no exception!
Lucy sez:
“Wake me when dinner’s ready.”
Happy New Year, everyone! See you in 2009!
