Venison Stew

My father-in-law did something that he hasn't done in the past few years,

he successfully hunted a couple of deer on his property.

We used to get venison on an annual basis, but it has been years

since we've had some deer meat in our freezer.

Needless to say, we were very excited to have a whole

bunch of meat that was essentially free.

I have just completed my first quarter in culinary school, so I 

was very excited to have the chance to butcher the carcass.

In the past, the meat came to us already cut up, but this time

we got large chunks.  We got the 2 front shoulders, the backstrap, the tenderloin

and the 2 hams.  This was my first butchering and it showed.

I think I still got a good yield though.

So you can look forward to lots of venison recipes coming soon.

The first one is venison stew.  As I was butchering the shoulders,

I kept chunks aside for stew.

I dredged the chunks in seasoned flour and put a sear on them.

Next came the mirepiox (onions, carrots and celery). 

After that was properly sweated, I deglazed with red wine and beef stock

and added more veggies.  I added turnips, potatoes and mushrooms.

I also added herbs de provence and dry mustard.

I let this simmer for a few hours until the meat was tender

and the flavors were well developed.

While I was doing that, the Dutchess made some homemade wheat 

bread in our bread maker.

The flavor of this stew was amazing.  The broth was rich and had "complex flavor".

That is how the Dutchess described it.  The best part was

to sop up the broth with the bread. 

Our first venison meal was a huge success.

Can hardly wait for a lunch of the leftovers!

Flock fed!

By the way, I also roasted the bones and made

some venison stock.  I guarantee that you will

hear more about this!