Cooking with ground venison is much like cooking with ground beef. It can be
substituted for most any ground beef recipe. I make tons of Italian dishes with it,
like spaghetti, lasagna and venison rigatoni and love cooking up big batches of
venison chili and stew, like the recipe I’ll share today. If you’d like to learn more about cooking with deer meat, check out my post: Tasty Ways to Cook with Venison.  Don’t have access to venison or not a fan? Feel free to use any type of beef stew meat you fancy.

This venison stew recipe is hearty and filling, and warms you up after a long day of hunting in the stand. It’s also great for a good weeknight family dinner and tastes even better on cold, rainy days. Flavored with fresh herbs from my garden and rich beef broth, I like to serve it with crusty, buttered French bread and a side salad.

Some Kinda Good Venison Stew
● 2 pounds of Venison Stew Meat, cubed
● 1 cup all-purpose flour
● 1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt
● 1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
● 1 Tablespoon Herbs de Provence
● 4 slices of hardwood smoked, thick-cut bacon, clipped into pieces
● 1 Medium Onion, diced
● 3 Celery Stalks, sliced
● 3 Carrots, peeled and diagonally sliced
● 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
● 1 large clove of garlic, minced
● Olive Oil, if needed
● Salt and Pepper
● 4 cups beef broth
● 1 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
● Bay leaf
● 3 sprigs of Fresh Thyme
● 3 sprigs of Parsley, plus more for garnish

Special equipment needed:
● Large dutch oven, such as Le Cruset
● 1 Gallon Zip Lock Bag
● Kitchen Twine

In a 1-gallon Zip Lock bag or paper sack, place the flour, garlic salt, cayenne
pepper and Herbs de Provence. Close the bag and shake well to combine the

seasonings and flour. Add the meat to the bag. Close it and shake well, turning
the bag until all the pieces are well covered. Meanwhile, in a large dutch oven
over medium-high heat, cook bacon pieces until crispy, and set aside. With a set
of tongs, shake off the excess flour from each piece of venison, adding it to the
rendered bacon fat. Brown the meat on all sides, searing until a golden brown
crust develops. Turn the meat, every minute or so, until all sides have been
browned. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Add a tablespoon of
beef broth to the pan to deglaze it. Using a wooden spoon, loosen the bits from
the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and bell pepper to the pan
and saute until tender, about five minutes. At this step, if your pan looks dry, add
a few tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Season well
with salt and pepper. Return the venison to the pan, and cover the meat and
vegetables with the broth and red wine. Using kitchen twine, make a bundle with
the thyme and parsley, tying a knot around the herbs and attaching the other end
to the handle of the pot. Season again with salt and pepper. Cover the stew with
a lid, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 45 minutes to
an hour. Taste the stew for seasoning and adjust as needed. Remove the bay
leaves, and discard the herb bundle. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve over
rice.

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Georgia native Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser is a freelance writer, entertainer and food enthusiast who writes and speaks about her love of good food and the Coastal South. A Food Network Star finalist, she is the Statesboro Herald food columnist and host of SKG-TV on YouTube. A Georgia Southern University alumna, Rebekah also attended Savannah Technical College’s Culinary Institute of Savannah. To learn more, connect with Some Kinda Good on social media, or visit RebekahLingenfelser.com.