Ground venison stew
This ground venison stew recipe is one of the easiest and most comforting answers if you’re looking for what to make with ground venison. It’s simple, filling, and doesn’t need a long list of ingredients or complicated steps. It’s the kind of hearty meal you throw together on busy days when you just want real food on the table without overthinking it.
If you’re new to wild game, this ground venison stew recipe is also a great example of how to cook ground venison without it drying out or tasting gamey. It can be a bit challenging sometimes to cook deer meat, whether you’re working with ground deer meat or whole cuts. It’s not as easy as cooking beef, where almost any cut turns out tender without much effort. With deer meat, you really have to be careful, and the biggest thing to master is patience. Cooking it over lower heat and giving it time helps the meat stay tender and really hold on to the flavors.
I’ve learned this along the way__ not to brag, but I’ve definitely gotten the hang of it. When I made my Deer meat stew and now this ground venison stew, I realized how much easier ground deer meat is to work with compared to chunks. With the stew, the pieces weren’t very big, but I still had to make sure they didn’t dry out. The same applies to ground meat too. Give yourself time, trust the process, and everything will come together in the end. Once you get it right, you’ll actually start enjoying cooking any type of deer meat.
Ingredients
- Ground venison
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Onion
- Minced garlic
- Butter
- Water (or beef broth / beef stock)
- Frozen green beans
- Dried mixed herbs
- All-spice
- Salt to taste
How to make Ground Venison Stew like a Pro
Follow my guide on how to cook ground venison and trust the process, alright! First up, I prepped my veggies. I always start with this because it honestly makes life so much easier. Things can move pretty fast once you’re at the pot, and the last thing you want is to be chopping while your onions are burning.
I peeled my potatoes and cut them into about 1 to 2 inch pieces. Then I peeled my carrots. I was feeling extra, so I cut them long, kind of like baby carrots, but you can absolutely just slice them if that’s easier. After that, I chopped my onion. I diced it really fine because my kids don’t like seeing onions, but honestly, do whatever cut you prefer.
Once all my veggies were ready, I heated up my pot. When it was hot, I went in with the ground venison. The goal here was to brown it, so I sautéed it first. Because venison is super lean, I added a tablespoon of butter just to get some healthy fat in there.
When the meat was nicely browned, I added the onions and sautéed them until they softened. After that, I added a tablespoon of minced garlic and let that cook for a bit until fragrant.
Next, I added the potatoes and carrots. Right after that, I poured in about two cups of water. You can use beef broth or beef stock here if you have it — I didn’t, so I worked with what I had, and water did the job just fine.
I brought everything to a boil, then lowered the heat and let it simmer until the veggies were super soft. You’re looking for fork-tender potatoes and carrots here.
Once the veggies were soft, I added the frozen green beans. I then seasoned the stew with dried mixed herbs, a bit of all-spice, and some salt to taste. I’m not super strict with seasoning, but just be careful with the salt, especially if you’re using broth since that can already be salty. A quick taste test helps here.
I let everything cook for another five minutes, just enough time for the flavors to come together and for the green beans to cook through.
And that’s it — my ground venison stew was ready to serve.
I ate mine just as it was because I’m keeping my sugar levels low, and honestly, it was super filling on its own with the meat and veggies. But you can totally serve this with rice or any staple you like.
Tips and mistakes to avoid for beginner cooks
- Whenever you use store-bought broth and stock, do a taste test before you add any salt. They have high sodium content unless you use a low-sodium broth or a homemade broth where you have control of the salt.
- You are welcome to add more vegetables if you want such as celery, green peas, sweet corn, etc.
- Venison is very lean and can dry out quickly. After browning, keep the heat moderate and let it simmer gently so the meat stays tender.
More stew recipes to add to your rotation
How to store leftovers
Leftovers keep really well, which makes this one of those ground venison recipes for dinner you’ll be happy to see in the fridge the next day. Let the stew cool completely, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. When reheating, do it gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a splash of water if it’s thickened up too much.
Make-ahead tips
You can make it earlier in the day or even the night before, and the flavors honestly get better as it sits. Just reheat when you’re ready to eat, and dinner is basically done with zero stress.
Ground venison stew
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground venison
- 2 Potatoes
- 1 Carrots large
- 1 Onion medium
- 1 tbsp Minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 2 cups Water (or beef broth / beef stock)
- 1 cup Frozen green beans
- 1 tsp Dried mixed herbs
- 1 tsp All-spice
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Start by prepping all your veggies before you turn on the stove. This makes everything so much easier once you start cooking. Peel and cut the potatoes into chunky pieces, peel the carrots and cut them however you like, and finely chop the onion. Set everything aside so it’s ready to go.
- Place a pot on the stove over medium heat and let it warm up properly. You want the pot hot before adding anything so the meat browns nicely.
- Add the ground venison to the hot pot and sauté it, breaking it up as it cooks. The goal here is to brown the meat and build flavor.
- Because venison is very lean, add a bit of butter to the pot. This helps keep the meat from drying out and adds richness to the stew.
- Once the venison is nicely browned, add the chopped onions. Sauté until they soften and turn slightly translucent.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook it briefly, just until fragrant. Be careful not to let it burn.
- Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot and give everything a good stir so the vegetables are coated in all that flavor.
- Pour in the water or beef broth. Bring the stew to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer gently.
- Let the stew simmer until the potatoes and carrots are fork-tender. This step is all about patience, so keep the heat low and let everything cook slowly.
- Once the vegetables are soft, add the frozen green beans. Season with dried mixed herbs, all-spice, and salt to taste. If you’re using broth, taste first before adding extra salt.
- Let the stew cook for another few minutes, just until the green beans are cooked through and all the flavors have come together.
- Once everything is cooked, remove from the heat and serve. You can enjoy it just as it is or serve it with rice or any staple you like.
