Venison Stew

So, Vocal just posted a new challenge: Summer Camp - share a recipe for your ideal Midsummer meal.

There's one problem with that: I'm in the Southern Hemisphere, and we just got launched face-first into a bitterly cold winter. Seriously, I feel like I just got thrown into an iceberg, and now is a very bad time for electricity, and thus heating, prices to be on the rise. Also, I'm something of a picky eater, and my food tastes don't actually change that much from season to season.

I cook things in bulk, then freeze the leftovers to eat over the next several months. I'm uncomplicated like that. Anyone who prides themselves on making three healthy meals completely from scratch every single day of the year isn't juggling three jobs and something that vaguely resembles a social life.

So, here is yet another simple and easy recipe for any slow-cooker enthusiasts or time-poor foodies.

This recipe will serve 6-8 people. Adjust accordingly for your needs.

Ingredients

1 packet of French Onion Soup Powder

2 large carrots OR 250g baby/dutch carrots, cut into chunks

250g brown or white mushrooms, button or sliced

300g baby spinach

2 large potatoes, cut into chunks

250g pumpkin, cut into chunks

500 Venison or Kangaroo (a.k.a "Australian Venison"), diced.

Dried or fresh mixed herbs

NOTE: Other vegetables can be added or substituted according to your preference or what you happen to have in the crisper. Leek, onion, water chestnut, baby sweet corn... go wild. I hate celery, which is often a staple in soups and stews, so I cut it out. If you like the stringy water vegetable, good for you, add away.

Method

1. Chop your vegetables. If you bought them pre-diced, as I often do and will never shame anyone for, you can skip this step.
2. Heat oil in a frypan and brown the meat, about 1-2 minutes per side
3. Add your vegetables and meat to your slow-cooker/crock pot.
4. Following the instructions on the packet, prepare the French Onion Soup mix, using about 1.5 cups of water to 1 packet of instant soup mix.
5. Pour the soup over the meat and vegetables, being sure to cover evenly. NOTE: Unless your crock pot is tiny, this won't actually cover the contents. That's fine, it doesn't need to.
6. Sprinkle the mixed herbs in.
7. Set your slow-cooker/crock pot to low for 6 to 8 hours. As someone with an unreasonably early start to work, I tend to put the crock pot on before I go to bed, then turn it off before I leave for my first shift of a morning. By the time I return home an hour or so later to get ready for the rest of the day, it will have cooled enough to be portioned into tupperware containers and ziploc bags.
8. If you have a more reasonable schedule, you can prep the ingredients the night before, then throw everything into the slow-cooker on your way to work, ready for dinner when you get home.

COOKING NOTE: Venison is a game meat, which means either searing, or low-and-slow to cook properly. Treating venison like your average chop will result in something rather like shoe leather.

Kangaroo is remarkably similar to venison for anyone living in countries without a deer population. They're both lean and extremely flavourful game meats that go in a wide variety of dishes.

Serving Suggestions

Venison Stew goes well with any carbohydrate, whether that's mashed potato, rice, or bread for dipping or as a bowl.

I tend to favour mashed potatoes, which is why I go light on the potatoes in the actual ingredients. You can also enjoy the stew just on it's own.

For other simple and tasty meals, check out the links above, or go to my profile and check out my contributions to the 'Feast' Community.

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