by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: December 22, 2009

Learning how to cook venison stew depends in the first instance about learning something about the properties of venison meat and the dangers of cooking it in an inappropriate fashion.

Venison is usually thought of as being a very tasty and tender form of game meat. This is indeed the case when it is cooked properly. As venison is also a very lean meat, however, with little or no fat upon it whatsoever when we come to cook it, if venison is cooked too quickly or in a manner which is not suitable, the meat will be served as tough as a pair of old leather boots.

How to cook venison stew is therefore more than anything else, very slowly. The venison must be cooked on a very low heat, merely simmering and no more for two to two and a half hours, to allow the fibres within the meat to break down slowly and the venison itself to become deliciously tender.

Venison loin is the most common part of the deer used in the preparation of venison stew. The meat should be chopped in to approximately one inch cubes and washed lightly in cold water to remove the excess blood before being patted dry in some clean kitchen towel. It should then be added to a bowl with some plain flour and seasoned with freshly ground black pepper only, not salt.

A little sunflower or corn oil should then be added to an ideally non-stick stew pan and brought up to a medium heat before the venison is added to brown. It is important to stir the venison around constantly during this procedure in order to prevent sticking and ensure even browning but the process should only take about a couple of minutes to complete. For a pound of venison loin, one pint of beef or chicken stock and one pint of cheap red wine should then be added. Cheap red wine should be used as it is the general flavour of the wine which is required and using a more expensive variety is simply a waste of money and of good red wine. The liquid should then be brought to a boil and the heat turned down until that gentle simmer is achieved.

The stew should be monitored regularly and if the cooking liqueur needs topped up, boiling water only should be used. This is because the concentrated flavours of the stock and the red wine are already being added to the meat.

When the venison stew has been simmering for at least two hours, it is time to prepare the vegetables which are then to be added to it. The choice of vegetables which can be added to venison stew are numerous but carrot, onion and parsnip or turnip are some good ones. The vegetables should be peeled and chopped to again approximately one inch cubes and added to the stew when they are thus prepared.

The vegetables will take between twenty to thirty minutes to cook through and by this time, the venison should hopefully be beautifully tender. The stew can then be seasoned as required and ladled in to serving bowls to be served perhaps with some hot, crusty bread.

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