Slow Cooker Venison Stew Recipe
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Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Venison
High heat toleant cooking fat or oil (duck fat, bacon/pork fat, tallow, avocado oil, clarified butter)
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Onion
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Herbs de Provence
Diced tomatoes
Beef or venison stock
Dry red wine (Cabernet, Bordeaux)
Worchestershire sauce
Cornstarch/tapioca starch/arrowroot powder
What other meats can you use – this recipe will work well with elk, antelope, moose, beef, bear – really any red meat. When I use the term venison here or in my book, you can assume I’m also including elk, antelope, and moose.
To make this slow cooker venison stew gluten-free – This recipe has not been tested with gluten-free flour, however, I imagine it will work just fine. You can also choose to omit steps 1-2 in the recipe card below and add the starch suggested in step 6.
If you don’t have Herbs de Provence – I suggest finding Herbs de Provence and not substituting because it’s so lovely. I call for it in a lot of my recipes so you’ll use it up. I get mine at Wal Mart or Thrive Market. If you must sub or want to make it yourself, check out this post.
On selecting/substituting wine – When using a wine you really just want something palatable. This doesn’t call for much so just use something you already have open from the night before or that you’d like to serve with the meal. Don’t feel the need to spend big, I usually stay in the $12-$17 range with something I cook with. Of course, it can be omitted completely if you wish, but be sure to add 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar instead.
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Directions: |
Directions:Mix together the flour, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper in a medium bowl. Pat the venison very dry with a towel to remove any liquid. Toss the venison chunks in the flour mixture until everything is coated and the flour is absorbed.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil or fat. Once hot, sear the venison on all sides. You may need to work in batches to avoid overcrowding the meat.
Once seared, transfer the meat to the bottom of a slow cooker with the potatoes.
Then layer in the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, Herbs de Provence, the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, tomatoes, stock, wine, and Worchestershire sauce.
Set your slow cooker on low for 8-9 hours.
Optional (for thick stew) – After about 6 hours, remove a few spoonfuls of the broth and pour into a bowl or cup. Stir in the starch until the starch dissolves making a slurry. Pour the slurry into the stew, stir well and skew the lid for the remaining cook time.
Serve with crusty bread & get cozy!
Storage & Prep Tips
Since this recipe takes 8 hours to make, you can always do all of the chopping the night before and sear your venison and add it to the slow cooker. When you wake up, add the liquid, set it, and forget it while you go about your day.
Alternatively, you can make it overnight while you sleep and just heat it on low or warm in the slow cooker or a saucepan before you want to eat. Or heat individual portions in the microwave.
This keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days. My husband always says it’s better the next day!
If we have leftovers (because this makes 6-8 servings) I like to freeze them in a freezer-safe dish or a vacuum-sealed bag for busy nights or a cozy lunch. This is the MVP of meal prep – it keeps fantastically for about 6 months. |
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