Slow Cooker Venison Stew | Easy & Classic
Tough venison cuts, seared and slow-cooked with red onions, root veg, and herbs into a glossy, fork-tender stew. Easy to make and perfect for family meals and deer camp.
Ingredients
For the meat
- 2 pounds venison stew meat cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (for coating the meat)
Oil for cooking
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For the vegetables
- 2 red onions (large dice)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 3 stalks celery (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 4 carrots (peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes (quartered)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
For the liquid
- 6 cups beef or venison stock (or enough to just cover)
- 1/4 cup water (or dry red wine)
For the herbs and seasonings
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 2 sprigs rosemary (picked and chopped)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons juniper berries (crushed or finely chopped) optional
- Kosher salt and black pepper (to taste)
For thickening (Beurre Manié)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
Pre-heat
- Preheat your slow cooker on Low.
Sear the venison
- Add the venison to a large bowl. Season with kosher salt and black pepper, then toss with the flour until lightly coated.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, sear the venison in batches until browned. Transfer each batch to the slow cooker.
Sweat the onions and garlic, then deglaze
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the onions to the skillet and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, until it darkens slightly.
- Add the water or dry red wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour everything into the slow cooker.
Add the vegetables and seasonings
- Add the celery, carrots, potatoes, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, rosemary, bay leaf, thyme, and optional juniper.
Cover and slow cook
- Pour in enough stock to just cover the meat and vegetables. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours, or on High for 6 to 8 hours, until the venison is fork-tender.
Thicken the stew and season to taste
- If using the beurre manié, stir it into the hot stew after the meat is fork-tender. Switch the slow cooker to High and cook for 15 to 30 minutes, until the gravy lightly coats the back of a spoon.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more chopped fresh rosemary and parsley to brighten the stew up.
NOTES
- Best cuts: Use shoulder, neck, shank, or trimmed hindquarter stew meat.
- Brown in batches: Do not crowd the pan. If the pan is crowded, the venison will steam instead of sear. This means less flavor.
- Stock level: Add enough stock to just cover the meat and vegetables. Slow cookers trap moisture. This can make for a watery stew.
- Vegetable size: Cut the potatoes, carrots, and celery into sturdy pieces so they hold up during the long cook.
- Cook until fork-tender: Low takes about 8 to 10 hours. It takes about 6 to 8 hours on the high setting. Shank meat can take a little longer.
- Thickening is optional: You don't need to thicken the stew. If you do want to, use the Beurre Manié technique that is listed in the recipe. For a gluten free option, thicken with a corn starch slurry.
- Use a little red wine: For extra flavor, use a dry red wine to deglaze the pan. You can also replace 1 cup of the stock with red wine.
Nutrition
Calories: 480kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 144mg | Sodium: 626mg | Potassium: 1548mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 7602IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 8mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.
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