I was thinking someone who cooks venison regularly would respond, but your thread is sinking. A lot would depend on the cut. As to leanness, all the standard tricks apply if it's too lean: caul fat, duck fat or lard, oil, etc. If you want to retain the moisture without adding fat, go for a braise or put a rack over aromatics and liquid and steam.

For stew, just make stew! It's essentially a braise and very traditional. Use the tougher bits with more connective tissue for a stew. Add mirepoix, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. Herbs and wine. Just go for it!

I agree with plllog, take the beef stew recipe you like and just use venison. It works the same, as does beef vegetable, which easily converts to venison vegetable.

I've also used venison in place of beef in mushroom/barley soup and put it in the crockpot for barbacoa to use in tacos. Use the venison to make the meatballs for an Italian Wedding Soup or put it in some venison noodle soup.

I do find the venison flavor more noticeable in the less well seasoned dishes, like noodle or barley soup, less noticeable in the more highly spiced ones, so that may factor into your decision also

Annie

For venison and moose I just use a good basic beef stew recipe. Venison is cubed aprox 3/4 inch and moose more 2 inch. (I do often add a beef short rib)...I have them in the freezer for burgers we grind...(1/3rd each short rib, brisket, chuck).

A beef stew recipe that has a bit of tomato and red wine for some acid. A kick up if you like the extra flavors I add sometimes a handful of black olives and a dried fruit like prune, dates, and/or dried cranberries about 1/2 hour towards the end of the 3-4 hours low and slow cooking. Usually an oven roasted enameled cast iron pot.

Just whatever keeps it at a very slow simmer. Rich and tender can be anywhere from 3-6 hours depending....and often best the next day.

My moose stew I always add a slice of cubed crusty boule just out of the oven. And some fresher sautéed veggies like leek, carrot, onion, celery, and chill the stew quickly, then fridge, served the next day. Re-heated with extra stock in the oven. It is a tradition for 18 years now to have a moose/cod/king crab meal with friends that provide the moose/king crab....commercial fisherman. (cod/crab/moose meatball apps).

Try adding a crumbled slice of gingerbread to the mix. It will add a gentle flavour of spices that works wonders. The cake not biscuit type lol

Venison makes a good sauerbraten too.

Do you have venison from a buck or a doe? If it is a buck, was it a large trophy buck in rut? It makes a difference in how strong the venison tastes. A doe is usually so mild, that except for being so much leaner than beef, we can't tell the difference even in plain recipes.

Do you like heavily seasoned foods? My husband doesn't.

My basic venison stew. Serves 2 with a small amount of left overs.

1 pound venison stew meat, cut into bite size pieces. fat and silverskin removed

All purpose flour

2-4 tablespoons oil

1 qt water

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2-3 red potatoes, peeled and diced

Dredge venison in flour. Heat oil in dutch oven and brown meat, stirring occasionally. When browned, meat does not have to be done, add 2 cups water. Stir, reduce heat to medium to medium low, and cover. Cook for about 45 minutes to one hour, stirring occasionally. Add water if needed. You want the meat to cook until almost tender.

Add carrots and potatoes and cook until done. We like ours thick, so I add water as needed just to keep from sticking. If you like yours thinner, just add more water.

*You can season the meat with salt and pepper if wanted. We just add in our bowls. My husband does not like much salt.

*You can add a small amount of onion powder.

* You can use frozen mixed vegetables instead of carrots and potatoes. I use 1 1/2 cups.

* I serve with biscuits.

I love this stew, but husband doesn't

Herbed Venison and Vegetable Stew Serves 8

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 pounds venison, cut into bite size pieces, fat and silverskin removed

1/4 cup olive oil

1 can (35 ounces) plum tomatoes in juice, undrained

1 2/3 cup beef broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon, EACH, dried basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 bay leaves

1 pound carrots, sliced

12 ounces mushrooms, sliced

12 ounces fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces

4 large ribs of celery diced

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1. Mix flour and salt, Coat meat, shaking off excess.

2. Heat oil in 4 to 5 quart dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown meat in 2 to 3 batches.

3. Return all meat to pot. Stir in tomatoes, broth, wine, garlic, herbs, pepper, and bay leaves. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring 3 or 4 times.

4. Add carrots, mushrooms, green beans, celery, and parsley. Cover and simmer 45 minutes longer, stirring once or twice, until meat and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Oh, and if you get more, in the form of a roast or thick steak, I make corned venison. No one has yet been able to tell it from corned beef, but it takes several days of curing in the refrigerator.

Your stew sounds like it came out very nicely, though, so I'm happy you enjoyed it.

Annie

Everyone I know who hunts deer makes it all into salami....but for one who saves out the backstrap for a roast or grilling.
I suspect they like the hunt more than the meatm

My daughter was just treated to a venison meatloaf, well spiced. She was surprised how good it tasted-- but this was her first foray into gamey meats.

Hmmm I have some steaks and ground meat. No larger cuts so far. Evidently my step-sister is less excited about venison at the moment - my BIL was offering more at dinner the other night.

It is freezing here. So stew is nice to have.

Stroganoff is great with ground venison. Do you eat beef steaks medium rare? Venison steaks, backstraps are fantastic cooked medium rare. Rub with olive oil and grill. Outside or in. I also have a seasoned recipe for rib eye that is good with venison. Hubby won't eat if any pink, I like waved over the flames. You can also pound like cube steaks and flour and fry.

I like this blog. I DON'T forage for all the wild stuff like he does, but he has good venison recipes and a great book. We cook a whole front shoulder in a red wine reduction, that is in his cook book. I also do the Osso Buco with the shanks.

https://honest-food.net/

ETA: I am cooking venison cube steaks in milk gravy tonight (Chicken Fried Steak).

My brother learned how to can venison from his MIL in central Ohio. The stew he would make from that canned venison was out of this world tender and delicious. He also had summer sausage made with trimmings and I loved it. I loved him and miss him so much.

My condolences Seagrass. My dad passed 7 years ago in February. Missing him comes suddenly when something reminds me of him.

I can really basic stuff. I am not up to meat yet.

lindac, I've never heard of anyone making venison salami, but your comment jogged my memory about all the people I used to work with who hunted and made venison jerky! They never offered me any to try. :p

One of my sons makes Summer Sausage and breakfast sausage from venison, also a link sausage that he grills, and sometimes smokes. It's all delicious!

You can reduce, practically eliminate, the 'gamey' or venison flavor of venison by marinating in milk. Just put it in a plastic bag with enough milk to cover it completely. Make sure the bag is tightly closed, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Be sure to turn the bag periodically so that all the meat surfaces have 'equal time' covered with the milk. Makes delicious steaks or roasts.

Now I'm hungry for some venison. . . . .

Rusty

DH doesn’t hunt, but we have a good friend who does. Last year, he had an entire deer made into Summer Sausage. He brought some when he came to visit in the Fall. It was FANTASTIC. I don’t know if you can have it made after the fact or if it has to be done by the processor when he is preparing the meat, but see if you can’t get your almost-BIL to have some made.