When your hubby hands you deer meat, you make Venison Stew. Perfectly seasoned tender meat with hearty carrots, potatoes, celery and onions....this stew recipe is the ultimate comfort food. Venison is almost always in our freezer, and this is a great way to use just about any cut of the lean and flavorful meat. Where we live (West Tennessee), deer is plentiful and affordable, and hunting is a lifestyle. We respect the animal and the kill, and we are always appreciative and thankful for the meals made from this beautiful animal. Serve this recipe with homemade biscuits and your family will go crazy over this delicious pot of yummy.
This is true Southern comfort. (And it makes all of those early mornings of hunting worthwhile.)
Venison Stew : A Southern Recipe
Do you ever make a meal that you are proud of? One of those meals you take your time with, enjoy the entire cooking process, think it is pretty dang good? Then your family eats it and loves it because it tastes so delicious?
This Venison Stew is that recipe for me right now. Proud of my husband for providing for our family. Proud to serve my family this wonderful homemade meal. Proud of where we live and the life we lead.
How beautiful is this? Hardly any fat. Full of flavor and protein, the perfect base for this Venison Stew.
Ingredients Needed to Make Venison Stew:
- Venison- we used tenderloin, but you can also use roast, backstrap, etc.
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Onion
- Celery
- Spicy V-8 Juice - you won't believe how much flavor this adds
- All purpose flour
- Bacon fat
- Worcestershire sauce
- Bay leaves
- Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and coriander
We love stew. I make it a few times a year, especially when there is a nip of cold in the air. Usually we use leftover pot roast or beef. (And this recipe is excellent with beef if you do not have access to venison.)
This one was extra special. Not sure if it was the venison meat that was the trick (from my husband's big kill last year), or if the seasonings were perfect...but whatever it is, this Venison Stew recipe is the best stew I have ever made.
Hands down. And I've made a lot of stew.
And just because he (the Hunter Hubby) made me post this, here is THE deer (currently hanging on my wall), that provided my family this wonderful dinner.
Southern Decor. Thanks to my hubby.
#southerngirlprobs #lastyearsdeer #homedecor #hunting #youmightbearedneck[/caption]
How to Make Venison Stew:
- First, cut venison meat into 1 inch cubes. In a large bowl, toss with flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, garlic powder and ground coriander. Use your hands to make sure all of the deer meat is coated well. (Keep the flour that is left in bottom of the bowl.)
- Next, in a large pot, heat 2 TB of the bacon fat over medium high heat. In small batches, cook the flour coated venison until browned on all sides, about 5 – 7 minutes per batch. Add more bacon fat as you cook the deer. As each batch is cooked, set aside. Continue until all meat is browned.
- Then return the cooked venison to the pot. Add the potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery. Stir to combine. Add the V-8 to deglaze the pot, stirring well and scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add 1 cup of hot water to the reserved flour mixture (that was leftover from coating the venison.) Using a fork or whisk, stir until smooth. Pour into the pot with the venison and vegetables.
- Mix in the remaining water, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, remaining salt and pepper. Stir well, increase heat to a low boil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. Cook until the carrots are cooked through and the venison is tender.
TIP: After tossing our venison in seasonings and flour, we browned it in some bacon fat. Yes, bacon fat. Don't be shy...this is about flavor. (Use oil if you want, but if you have the bacon fat, this is a great recipe to use it in.)
Definitely use large chopped veggies because it gives the stew a heartier texture, looks fantastic, and who doesn't love a big ol' carrot in their bowl of stew?
Simmer and stew until the vegetables are cooked through and the venison is tender.
If you love this country recipe, try these:
Country Chicken Cacciatore
Grilled Bacon Cabbage
Tennessee Tomato Gravy
Three Bean Venison Chili
Fall Harvest Homemade Vegetable Soup
Serve with cornbread, crackers, white bread or my personal choice : Homemade Butter Biscuits! (Recipe coming soon!)
Tips for the Best Results:
- Cut the venison and vegetables into similar sized pieces. This makes it easier to eat, plus everything will cook evenly.
- Don't skip the browning of the meat. This is where you develop lots of delicious flavor.
- Not a fan of venison? Swap out beef or lamb instead.
- This recipe is also great with parsnips if you can find them.
- Don't rush the cooking process because the secret to a great stew is all about simmering.
- Remove the bay leaves before eating. 🙂
- Chop up the celery leaves and toss them into the stew, too. There is a lot of flavor in those leafy greens.
What is your favorite stew recipe? Feel free to share your favorites in the comments section below.
Venison Stew
Ingredients
- 2 lbs venison cut into 1 inch cubes (we used tenderloin, you can also use roast, backstrap, etc)
- 6 cups hot water
- 5 medium potatoes peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)
- 4 large carrots large chopped (about 3 cups)
- 1 large onion chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3 celery stalks chopped about 1 cup
- 1 ½ cups Spicy V-8 juice
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 6 TB bacon fat
- 2 TB Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
Instructions
- Cut venison meat into 1 inch cubes. In a large bowl, toss with flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, garlic powder and ground coriander. Use your hands to make sure all of the deer meat is coated well. (Keep the flour that is left in bottom of the bowl.)
- In a large pot, heat 2 TB of the bacon fat over medium high heat. In small batches, cook the flour coated venison until browned on all sides, about 5 - 7 minutes per batch. Add more bacon fat as you cook the deer. As each batch is cooked, set aside. Continue until all meat is browned.
- Return the cooked venison to the pot. Add the potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery. Stir to combine. Add the V-8 to deglaze the pot, stirring well and scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add 1 cup of hot water to the reserved flour mixture (that was leftover from coating the venison.) Using a fork or whisk, stir until smooth. Pour into the pot with the venison and vegetables.
- Mix in the remaining water, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, remaining salt and pepper. Stir well, increase heat to a low boil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. Cook until the carrots are cooked through and the venison is tender.
- Serve hot with biscuits.
Karly
What a Midwestern delight! This looks so hearty and delicious. Perfect for those chilly days that are so rapidly approaching!
Teri
It really came together so well. Great cut of venison, too, so it was very tender. (Next time I make it, I will add more carrots. Because I love them, and seems like everyone picks those out of the pot.)
Victoria
Great recipe, Teri! I made a few substitutions, but really fabulous flavor and robust stew! The venison (fresh butchered) was quite tender. Thanks for the inspiration!
Teri
Thank you so much for letting me know. I love it, and I'm like you, I make substitutions all the time in this recipe. Very filling and the ultimate comfort food for this time of year. (Also great with beef, too.)
Alissa Krone
This looks delicious!! We are a hunting family and I seriously NEVER thought of using our deer or elk meat in stew!!! Well I am going to make it this week!! can't wait.... Thank you for the recipe (and hunting) 😉
p.s... Mount looks great he's a big one!! Good Job to the Hubs!!!
Teri
Hope you have a chance to try this recipe. It is one of my favorites.
lindsey
how would you suggest to make this in a crock pot?
Teri
I would brown the meat as described in steps 1 and 2, then put it all in a crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. You might have to add more liquid if your slow cooker cooks "hot"...mine does. Let me know how it turns out and any tweaks you made. I'd love to know.
TC
Instead of water, could you use a beef broth to deepen the flavor?
Teri
Absolutely. Beef broth or vegetable broth will be perfect. I have made it both ways.
Leslie Tomlinson
How would you modify this for a instapot?
Teri
I have never used an Instapot so I could not tell you personally. If you have an Instapot beef stew recipe, those instructions would likely be interchangeable with the venison. I would not skip the step of browning the meat first. It really adds a lot of flavor.
Debbie
I made this today. Wonderful! I has to make some substitutions with what I had on hand. I have had whole coriander in my cabinet that came with a spice tree gift that I have never used.... it wasn't ground so I had to pound it, but it has a great flavor. I read all of the comments so this is what I did. Followed the directions for browning the venison exactly. Used Beef broth in place of all water. Used a large can of crushed tomatoes with a couple of shakes of hot sauce to replace the spicy V8. I had a frozen 2lb soup mixed veggies that I threw in the crock pot on high with tonatoes and hot sauce. I browned onion and celery with cooked venison and added the beef broth and warm beef broth flour mixture on the stove top. When these were bubbly I added them to crock pot. I cooked on high for an hour then turned down to low for 2 hours because the veggies were frozen. I seeved with cornbread I had on hand. ..... Yummy. The flavor is great and the venison was tender and no wild taste. I didnt have anything to sub for the bay leaf.... but it was great anyway. Thanks for the great recipe. My son is the hunter in the Family. I love finding ways to use all of the meat cuts he shares with me. I was afraid stew meat would be tough, but it wasn't. ♥️
Teri
Great call on your substitutions, and glad you loved it. I love venison when it is tender and not too wild tasting. (p.s. I've also crushed up my coriander before, too.)
Michelle
Tried out your recipe for dinner tonight. We loved it. I have a few favorite venison recipes and this one just shot right to the top. My only tiny tweaks was to add 1 teaspoon of corn starch to the flour mixture that the venison cubes were dredged in (learned this at a cooking demo) and added some peas to the stew. Forget dreaming of sugar plums; my family will be dreaming of this delicious venison stew. Thanks for sharing.
Teri
Thank you so much! I am happy you enjoyed the recipe.
Gus
I very much enjoy making venison stew with the deer I hunt. One thing I love but can never seem to get to come out right is homemade biscuits. Yours look so good in the picture. I searched for a recipe but could not find one. Could you post a biscuit recipe sometime? Thanks!
Teri
Gus, your wish is my command. I will work on posting my biscuit recipe very soon. It is super easy. I use half chilled butter and half chilled shortening or lard with my flour, and buttermilk, of course. I'll drop you a message when I post the recipe.
Don Berg
Teri
i amstill wondering about that Butter biscuit recipe of yours ...im gunna try your stew recipe this weekend as i too had a highly successful whitetail hunt this past fall and do love a good biscuit.
Shoot me an email with it if you can
Don
Teri
Check your email. 🙂
Paul
I'm a guy who doesn't cook anything with numerous ingredients, but I made this and it came out great.
I used all beef stock instead of water, spicy V8 to deglaze the pan, and about 10 oz. of organic beef gravy in the pot. Additions I made were onion powder, turmeric, chile flakes, fresh minced garlic for pan cooking the meat, dry lentils, and fresh parsley just because I had it.
Teri
Yay!! I am glad you loved it. You are right, there are quite a few ingredients in the recipe, but all of them are simple. I love your additions, especially the turmeric and lentils. Great call. Thank you for taking the time to share your results.
Jeannette
I was missing my father yesterday and wanted to make his venison stew but didn't have his recipe. In my search for something similar I ran across your venison post and decided to give it a try. This was wonderful and my family loved it. I will definitely keep this recipe and make it again. I did substitute beef broth for the water, and used tapioca flour because I needed gluten free. Thank you for posting such a great recipe.
Teri
Thank you soooo much for taking the time to share. I'm so happpy you loved it, it is one of my husbands favorite recipes. (I've got some venison in the freezer to use up...I may have to make another pot soon.) Great idea on the tapioca flour! I'm glad you found a way to adapt it to your diet. 🙂
Dawn Conklin
Sounds delicious 🙂 I grew up eating venison when my parents knew a couple people who were hunters. I really would love to get some, but nobody hunts in our house. I also do not know as many people anymore here that do. It would be nice if you could buy it in the store by us. Beef is another great option tho. I bet this would be good with elk also, but that is something else I haven't had in many years. Not easy to get here (you don't see elk walking around NJ)
Teri
I enjoy venison in stews and chili. I hate that you can't find any. But yes, you can definitely make this recipe using beef or even lamb. I've never had elk...you don't see those walking around TN, either. lol
Liana
I'll be making this with elk tonight. I saw another commenter this January was looking for the "butter biscuit" recipe and I didn't see that posted yet . I'll find another in the meantime. Looking forward to eating this! Thanks!
Teri
I hope you love it, and let me know how it turns out with elk. I hope to get to that biscuit recipe VERY soon...working on a chocolate gravy recipe to go with it.
Gary
Made this the other day with the exception of the bay leaves (didn't have any handy). I did monkey around with the seasonings but only in the amount I used...didn't really stray far from this recipe. Turned out great...very creamy tasting and excellent for a cold day. Thanks for the recipe.
Teri
Thank you for visiting and leaving us such a great comment. I'm glad you liked it. And I monkey around with it, too.
Lisa
Hey I'm making this in the instant pot. Any idea how long I should leave it
Teri
I have never made this (or anything) in an Instapot. I would follow any "stew" type recipe cooking time guidelines that came with your appliance.