Venison Stew?

[WMAn]

Here's my problem. I love venison roasts. Not pot roasts or crock-pot roasts, but a 3-5 lb chunk of deer cooked to rare in the oven.

The problem is that roasts cooked this way are only good straight outta the oven, and my wife and I can't eat 5 lbs of meat in one meal.

My idea is to use the leftover meat to make a venison stew. I've tried it once and the results were ok. I'm looking for ideas on how to make a great venison stew with leftover roast. Most of the stews I have tried are kind of bland.

 

[Kritter Gitter]

All I do is add some store bought beef stew powder mix and fresh veggies (what ever kind you like) cover with water and cook till all is tender. good stuff there!

 

[Pic IN the Casa]

Cut remaining meat into chunks.

Dice and brown an onion.


Add enough water to cover meat (keep roast broth and add that in as well).

Simmer for a couple of hours.

Add potatoes, add carrots.

When veggies are cooked (softened through)...

Add 1 packet of McCormicks Beef Stew seasoning.

Add 1/2 packet McCormicks Brown Gravy seasoning.

Bring to boil then to simmer until gravy has thickened.

Then... trust me... add about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of ketchup.
Stir in, let simmer.

Enjoy.

 

[Pic IN the Casa]

... wouldn't let me edit...

should've said dice and brown the onion before adding.

 

[TAFKAP]

I think you're wanting to do two separate things with the same hunk of meat. I'm not sure how successful you will be in obtaining a good "stew" with already-cooked and rested meat.

Perhaps chilling your leftovers, then cubing it out the next day might be a starting point. Then use your seasoned and already-cooked meat as if it's raw stew meat. Brown it evenly, then remove it from the pot to build your stew. Put it back in when the stew is ready to simmer.

But I think the success to a good stew is getting the gelatin from the fat, connective tissue, and bones. When you roast a hunk of meat, I suspect you'll lose some of that. Either way, it'll taste good, but I think you'll be more in the "soup" range than "stew".

 

[Crosshairy]

I second Poser about cutting down on the meat servings. This can be done pre- or post-packaging (you just start the timer on cooking the rest of it if you thaw it first).

Some of the larger muscle groups could be cut into halves/thirds. I did that with several of my bigger roasts this year before vacuum-sealing them, because we don't eat that much meat in a single sitting (plus a day's worth of leftovers), and I'd prefer more options to cook fresh food than a giant pile of leftovers.

Stew meat using pre-cooked stuff is mediocre compared to a fresh batch, unless perhaps you kept the drippings from the roast pan and transferred them into the stew pot??? Never done that, but I guess it's possible to boost the flavor.

Also - regarding your "bland" statement...using fresh, higher-quality ingredients will boost the flavor. I recommend you grow some rosemary if you haven't tried it before. It's a very hardy plant that will survive well into the cold weather, and can be used fresh in all kinds of recipes. Basil is also easy to grow, but requires more watering (and it dies with a heavy frost).