Slow-Cooker Venison Stew

Venison stew is a classic, hearty dish that heats you up from the inside out. While folks outside the South think it’s always summertime around these parts, those of us who live in this diverse region know that we experience all four seasons in most of the Southern states. And wintertime can drop us into temperatures just as cold as they are in the northeast, Midwest, and northwest. That’s when kicking back with a perfectly prepared bowl of venison stew is both heart- and stomach-warming.

With a surprising combination of root vegetables, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, and herbs including thyme and dill, as well as ingredients for the sauce that range from blackberry jam to brown ale, this recipe for venison stew is as tasty as it is unusual. It’s also a terrific one-pot meal that’s easiest to make in your slow-cooker.

Learn how to make venison stew, and don’t be surprised if you find yourself dreaming about the rich fragrance and tender texture of this dish all hunting season long.

Ingredients for Slow-Cooker Vension Stew

Every ingredient on this list for venison stew has an important part, but some substitutions are possible. The full list and measurements are further below:

• Venison: Low in fat and cholesterol, and high in flavor, venison is a terrific choice for stew meat. Just be sure to use the right cut—a shoulder, shank, or hindquarter—so that it’s not too lean.
• Flour and salt: The venison chunks are coated in a combination of these two, then seared in oil in a cast-iron skillet. The searing will lock in flavors, the salt will help break down the protein fibers, and the flour will add to the sauce, helping it to thicken.
• Beef broth: Use a homemade or store-bought beef broth as the base of the stew's sauce. To thicken it, whisk 1/2 cup of broth with 1/4 cup of flour, and add it to the slow cooker first.
• Brown ale and tomato paste: Like the beef broth, these are two building block of the sauce. The ale creates volume while the tomato paste concentrates flavor. They also both lend acidity, which helps tenderize the venison.
• Dijon mustard and blackberry jam: These distinctly contrasting ingredients do the same two things to the sauce: They add pungency and vigor. Meanwhile, the jam also elevates the entire dish with a necessary bit of sweetness.
• Potatoes, carrots, and turnips: These root vegetables will not only add flavor and sweetness, but the starches they release while cooking will help the sauce thicken.
• Mushrooms: Richly aromatic and earthy, the mushrooms will help balance in the stew.
• Brussels sprouts: Among the last to go in the pot, the Brussels sprouts only cook for 30 minutes at the end. A surprising bit of cabbage-y green, they are an interesting textural contrast in comparison to the stew meat and root vegetables.
• Thyme, dill, and chives: While the thyme goes in early with the tomato paste to build a depth of flavor, the dill and chives are added near the end of cooking to provide bright and crisp herbal notes. 

How To Make Slow-Cooker Venison Stew

Making this nourishing, autumnal stew is relatively easy. Here’s a quick glance at the steps before we get into the nitty-gritty of the recipe further below:

• Coat the chunks of venison in a flour-salt combo and brown them with oil in a skillet in two batches.
• Thicken the broth by whisking 1/2 cup broth and 1/4 cup flour together in small bowl; then place in 6-quart slow cooker. Add the remaining broth along with the venison, beer, tomato paste, root vegetables, mushrooms, and thyme.
• Cover and slow-cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
• Add the Brussels sprouts and cook for 30 minutes. Finish the sauce with the jam, mustard, chives, dill, pepper, and remaining salt.
• Cook until everything is incorporated, and serve while it’s hot with crusty bread or over mashed potatoes or soft buttered egg noodles.

Cooking Tips for the Best Venison Stew

Making this stew may be easy, but a few handy tips will help make it even easier—and more delicious.

• Get the right cut of venison: Whether you're a hunter, a recipient of a hunter’s largesse, or a shopper, know what cut to use for stew. Venison is generally a lean protein, so you want to use the fattiest cuts possible that can withstand long, slow cooking and won’t become tough and chewy. Try the versatile hindquarter and cut it into cubes, or choose a shoulder or shank that requires braising to become tender.
• Don't make farm-raised substitutes: Beef stew recipes won’t be able to stand in for venison stew recipes, simply because there are inherent differences in the proteins’ composition. Corn-fed beef is fattier, with more marbling but a less-pronounced flavor. Meanwhile, venison is wild game that’s fed itself on all sorts of roots and shoots, all of which give the meat unique characteristics—and require some intense flavoring in the sauce to complement it. If you do need to substitute a different protein for venison, think about using elk or another wild game. Use our slow-cooker beef stew recipe if you have beef to cook.
• You can use fresh or frozen venison: If using frozen, make sure to defrost it before cooking. Also, venison is best when either wet- or dry-aged for the maximum amount of tenderness and flavor. If you’re buying the venison or using a processor to prepare it, then that step is likely already performed. But if a hunter is sharing with you, it’s likely you’ll have to do it yourself. 
• You can skip browning the meat in the skillet: If you're short on time, toss the chunks of venison directly into the slow cooker. Browning the meat first helps to seal in flavor, but it’s not a requirement. But don’t neglect to flour them, which will help thicken the sauce.
• Don't cut down the salt: When using wild game, which has less fat than domestically raised meats, you want the salt (and perhaps a dry rub if you have the time) to help break down the fibers. 

Venison Stew Variations

Venison stew lends itself well to adaptations and reworkings, as long as the sauces add acids and salts to the mix to help tenderize the venison. Think about trying some of the following: 

• Turn it into an instant venison pot pie by garnishing with biscuits on top.
• Add sausage and/or meatballs—venison or otherwise—for some textural variety.
• If you like the idea of venison chili but don’t have ground venison on hand, cut the chunks into smaller pieces, add kidney, pinto, and/or black beans, and season with cumin and chili powders.
• Instead of serving over mashed potatoes, transfer the stew to a casserole dish, spread the top with mashed potatoes, sprinkle with your choice of shredded cheese, and bake in the oven until lightly browned on top.
• Don’t have potatoes, turnips, Brussels sprouts, or mushrooms in the house? Use a bag or two of frozen or canned vegetables. It’s really the sauce here that makes this dish so comforting and rich, so feel free to add whatever your family’s favorite vegetables are to the mix. Just to be sure to adjust the cooking times.
• Cut down on cooking time by using an Instant Pot. The pressure will also tenderize the venison.
• Make it bourguignon! Add pearl onions, bacon, and red wine for even richer flavor.
• Try a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche on top for a cool, silky counterpoint.
• Change up the starch. Try eating the stew with soft corn tacos, or served over disks of oven-fried polenta, or next to a mound of fluffy herbed couscous.

How To Store and Reheat Venison Stew

As stew lovers know, a stew only gets better the next day as the meat continues to absorb savory goodness from the sauce. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. As long as there’s enough sauce to cover the proteins, venison stew also freezes well.

The best way to reheat venison stew is quickly in the microwave or slowly on the stove in a pot. If there’s not enough sauce for your liking, add some broth, tomato paste, red wine, a dab of Dijon mustard, and a touch of blackberry jam, bring to a boil, and then let it simmer until the alcohol burns off.

Editorial contributions by Jen Karetnick.