Simple Venison Stew

This weather can go at any time.

I'm currently sitting in my house because running errands this morning left me exhausted.  Cleaning my car off took over twenty minutes, and going to the gym afterward?  That was just ironic, especially considering that my "cool down" was cleaning my car off AGAIN for ten minutes.

Let's not forget about the shoveling of the icy driveway that is a ligament tear of some kind waiting to happen.  Every step is a challenge to keep upright and you can almost hear Mother Nature sneering at you as you twist your torso dangerously to toss the snow from your shovel.  She knows that one unlucky turn could land you in the ER, but she doesn't care.  She laughs and drops another foot of snow, hail, sleet and freezing rain on your dreams.

This is life in northern New York.

After this winter storm Jonas came through, I had a sick thought come into my mind.  I actually smirked at the fact that so many people were finally going to feel my pain.  Not that I would ever wish ill on another human being, but wishing them to feel the blustery chill and record levels of snow and the un-diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder that we all feel her in the north country?  Yes, I kind of enjoyed that part.

I'm a sick individual, apparently.

I know that I very often tout winter as being one of my favorite seasons, and truthfully, it is.  I love not being sunburned or the days when it's too hot and muggy to go outside.  I love ice fishing and playing outside with my dog in the snow and all sorts of things like that.  I even have a post planned in the next couple weeks that shows my love of winter.  The problem is days when you have nothing planned.  No outdoor excursions.  Nothing, because it's too miserable out.  Too cold, too windy, too sleet-y.  A 20 degree day with light powdery snow and a little bit of sunshine can be magical.  A -10 day with north winds and a combination freezing rain and hard, dense snow that hurts your skin when it hits... is not.

On days like these, I stay inside and mutter under my breath how much I'm ready for spring already.  I usually get some cleaning done.  And, I usually get down to some cooking, so I guess my day isn't all bad.

Today, I'm making stew.  It's ugly and plain and not all that exciting, but it's my go-to on days like this.

If you have a woodstove, you can do what I do and that's just throw all of the ingredients in a pot and cook it on top of the stove until it's fully cooked.  That's how we did it growing up.  Otherwise, this is a pretty simple slow cooker recipe to throw together as well.  I'm sure a chef out there will tell you that everything needs different cooking times and blah blah blah.  This is my family's stew recipe and everything is meant to be mushy and fall apart-y in this recipe.

That's what makes it so good!  If you don't have or like venison, you can absolutely use beef.  We tend to have a lot of roasts lying around because we'd rather eat all the other parts of the deer first.  The roasts fall apart and absorb all of the stock and flavorings.  Add that to the onions, carrots and potatoes?

This is just heaven.









Simple Venison Stew

2 lb. venison roast
1 white onion, diced
3 russet potatoes, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 quarts beef stock
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper to taste

Bread for dipping


Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally.

If you have a wood-stove, place ingredients in an oven-safe pot and place on top of stove for 6-8 hours.  Because you cannot regulate the temperature on a wood-stove well, you should check the stew every hour to see if it's done.