Venison Stew Recipe for Cold Winter Days

If you’re looking for a hearty meal on a cold fall or winter day, this venison stew recipe really hits the spot! It’s chock full of venison, potatoes, carrots and more to fill you up when you’ve worked up a big appetite. And if you don’t have any venison on hand, you can easily substitute some stew beef instead! 

My husband plans to hunt during his upcoming vacation, so I knew I needed to use up some of the venison in our freezer. While I’m not usually a fan of venison dishes with a gamey taste, this thick and hearty stew is packed with flavor and tastes pretty much like a beef stew. It’s perfect for a cold, blustery day–don’t forget the cornbread!

Note: The pictures on this post have been updated. So if you came to this recipe from a terrible picture of stew in an aqua colored bowl, you’re in the right place. 🙂 Same yummy recipe… better pictures.

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Venison Stew

This hearty venison stew will satisfy hungry appetites on cold, blustery days!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs venison, cubed
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, whole
• 1 med onion, sliced
• 2 med onions, chopped roughly (large pieces)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 dash ground cloves
• 6 carrots, chopped (large pieces)
• 4-5 potatoes, quartered
• 4¼ cups hot water
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven, brown venison in 2 tbsp olive oil, turning often.
2. Add 2 cups hot water, the Worcestershire sauce, garlic, one sliced onion, bay leaves, salt, sugar, paprika, pepper and cloves. Cover and simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove bay leaves and garlic. Add potatoes, carrots and two chopped onions. Add one or two more cups of hot water to almost cover the vegetables. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
4. Remove 1¾ cups of liquid (stock) from the venison and vegetables. In a separate cup, combine ¼ cup hot water and 2 tbsp flour until smooth. Mix flour-water mixture into the stock, and return stock to the meat and vegetables. Cook until thick and bubbly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes

You may taste the flour from the slurry if you do not let the stew simmer long enough after returning the stock to the pan. Let it simmer at least 10 minutes, longer if needed to get rid of the flour taste.

This recipe was adapted from “Jonathan’s Favorite Old-Time Beef Stew” in the Favorite Recipes book by the Pocahontas Conference WHFMS.

For more of our favorite soups and stews, check out these posts:

Hearty Baked Potato Soup

Stuffed Pepper Soup

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Donella Crigger

Hi! I'm Donella. Welcome to Glue Sticks and Gumdrops, where I blog about crafts for kids, kid-friendly recipes, and meals for families with a bit of parenting and party ideas sprinkled in. I am a mom to one amazing (and active) little boy, and I'm married to a deputy. As you can imagine, our lives are hectic, but sitting down to a family meal or making a craft together is our way of connecting with each other.

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