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This is the BEST recipe for venison stew. Full of tender venison and perfectly cooked vegetables that are all prepared in a flavorful stock, this is one of my favorite venison recipes. Checkout the tasty recipe video below, too!
This simple recipe for hearty venison stew is the ultimate comfort food! This classic slow cooking method is such a great way to use deer meat that is packed full of flavor, tender as can be, and not at all gamey.
Want something a little more inventive? Check out my red wine venison stew for a French twist on this hearty recipe!
Ingredients for this recipe
Simple Venison Stew Recipe
While this seems like a laundry list of ingredients, they’re all simple, pantry staple items that aren’t hard to gather at the grocery store. And the recipe is easy as can be with big, flavorful results!
The cooking method of this stew is two part: starting with a sear on the stovetop and finishing with a low and slow braise in the oven that leaves the venison fall-apart tender and hearty vegetables perfectly cooked!
Making Venison Stew
This is just a brief overview, find detailed instructions in the recipe card below!
How to perfectly cook potatoes and carrots for stew
Venison stew meat isn’t super tender and needs plenty of time to slowly cook in order for the muscle fibers and connective tissue to break down and become melt-in-your-mouth tender! And while slow cooking is great for the venison, it can mean mushy potatoes and carrots if you’re not careful!
The key to perfectly cooked stew vegetables is adding them in the last hour of cooking. This gives them enough time to soak up some delicious cooking liquid - leaving them perfectly cooked and fork tender, but not soppy and mushy!
What cuts of venison for stew?
For a dish like this, you’re not going to use the tenderloin or backstrap of the deer, those are already beautifully tender cuts and don’t require slow cooking. (You should definitely check out my perfect pan seared venison tenderloin if you need a recipe idea, though!)
The best cuts of meat for venison stew are from the bottoms of the shoulder and legs of the deer. These aren’t prime cuts and can be tough due to ligaments, connective tissues, and other fibers. Slow cooking these pieces makes them so unbelievably tender!
Ingredient Substitutions
Fat – if you don’t have bacon fat, you can use salted butter or lard for delicious flavor. Fat is needed in this recipe because venison is an incredibly lean red meat.
Beer – if you don’t like beer, you can omit it from this recipe. You can either replace is with 12 ounces of red wine (YUM!) or an equal amount of beef stock to make this dish alcohol-free.
Acid - Worcestershire sauce is used for a little cut of acid, much like when you’re making easy venison burgers. You can also use balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar, if that’s all you have on hand.
Herbs – if you don’t have the fresh herbs to tie into a bouquet garni, use 1 tsp. each of dried rosemary and thyme.
Peas – I used canned peas in this recipe because we had an abundance of them, but fresh or frozen sweet peas would also work.
Potatoes – I love using baby red potatoes in stews, but Yukon golds and even scrubbed and chopped russet potatoes would do!
Watch the recipe video!
The BEST Venison Stew
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon bacon fat
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 2 pounds venison stew meat
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt (plus more to taste)
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 12 ounces brown ale
- 1 medium white onion, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 24 ounces beef stock
- 3 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pound baby carrots
- 1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 15 ounces sweet peas (fresh, canned, or frozen)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Place a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons bacon fat and 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil. While the oil heat, pat 2 pounds venison stew meat dry with a paper towel. Add to the preheated oil. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon Kosher salt, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. dried oregano, ½ tsp. smoked paprika, and ½ tsp. black pepper over the meat, stirring to coat.
- Cook the venison, stirring once or twice, until the pieces have browned, about 8 minutes. Deglaze the pan with 12 ounces of brown ale. Be sure to scrape the pot to get all the delicious, browned bits off the bottom. Add the sliced onion, garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, and 3 cups of beef stock. Stirring to combine.
- Tie the rosemary and thyme sprigs together with butcher’s twine before nestling into the cooking liquid, followed by the bay leaf.
- Cover pot and cook stew in preheated oven for 1 ½ hours. Remove from oven and stir in 1 pound baby carrots and 1 pound diced red potatoes.
- Return to oven and cook for one more hour. Remove stew from oven, taste, and adjust seasoning. Remove the bay leaf and herb bundle and discard. Whisk ½ cup of the cooking liquid with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and return to the pot. Stir in the peas.
- Once liquid has thickened slightly, stew is ready to serve!
Video
Notes
- Leftover stew can be refrigerated for up to five days.
- For an even thicker gravy, use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
Nutrition
Ken says
My family absolutely loved this stew. I am a huge fan of your recipes and you smashed it out of the park with this one too!
Amanda Gajdosik says
Oh wow Ken THANK YOU so much! Love to hear this 🙂 Thanks for reviewing! And keep an eye out for even more delicious venison recipes coming this hunting season!
Carolyn says
Excellent excellent excellent! I used my instant pot. Will definitely make again.
Thank you for such a great recipe!