Tag: comfort food

Baked Venison Stew

I am not going to sugar coat this: Baked Venison Stew is my new obsession. You guys, it is quite possibly one of the easiest yet most delicious, comforting meals you can make. And when I say easy, I mean, “Roughly chop, dump it in the kettle, put it in the oven and bake” kind of easy. From start to finish, you can have it in the oven in less than ten minutes. It bakes for three hours and turns into perfection. 

I know venison may not be a common household protein for many, and guess what, that’s okay! Beef stew meat would work just as well, but for my deer hunting friends, this is the ticket to another recipe you can keep in your back pocket for a comforting autumn and winter meal. 

Also, speaking of venison, I have done this recipe two different ways and it has worked beautifully in both: one with raw cubed venison stew meat (as written in the recipe), and also with my canned seasoned venison. In terms of flavor, I would say we can’t tell the difference. The canned seasoned venison is already cooked when it goes into the Dutch oven, so you have to stir with care or it will fall apart. But I think this is good news because sometimes you want stew, but you don’t have thawed stew meat on hand. 

The Key to your Baked Venison stew

Finally, key to this recipe is a quality Dutch oven. A quick Google search of Dutch ovens will result in tons of articles about why you need a Dutch oven (Click here to find one!). If you don’t have a cast iron Dutch oven, I can’t recommend it enough. I use it for baking bread and stew and it is my go to pot when I am making any soup or stew on the stove top.

I love my Lodge Dutch Oven! (Truth be told, I often have two Dutch ovens going at one!)

Now, are you ready to start making some baked venison stew? Let’s go!

Your Ingredients (for about 10 servings)

  • 2 pounds cubed stew venison
  • 4 carrots 
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 2 onions
  • 1 1/2 pounds potatoes
  • 1 package button mushrooms
  • 1 teaspoon each: salt, pepper, dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 12 ounces tomato sauce
  • 3 cups beef stock (or venison stock if you have it!)
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2/3 cup flour

Your Steps to Baked Venison Stew

And here’s the easy part! Roughly chop the vegetables. Throw them all in a heavy cast iron Dutch oven and stir well. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for three hours. (Make sure your cover is oven safe!) 

I stir it about every hour to make sure nothing is sticking, but it turns to perfection. Thick and hearty. A perfect meal. If you want yours a little less thick, add another 1/2 cup to 1 full cup of beef stock. But I am telling you, this is comfort in a bowl.

A beautiful collection.
All chopped up.
Some wet ingredients.
Stir it up!
After 90 min.
Perfection.

Baked Venison Stew

Thick and hearty, this baked venison stew is the ultimate comfort food with its chunky vegetables and tender meat.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Course dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 10 servings

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 2 pounds cubed stew venison
  • 4 carrots
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 2 onions
  • 1 1/2 pounds potatoes
  • 1 package button mushrooms
  • 1 teaspoon each: salt pepper, dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 12 ounces tomato sauce
  • 3 cups beef stock or venison stock if you have it!
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2/3 cup flour

Instructions
 

  • Roughly chop the vegetables.
  • Throw them all in a heavy cast iron Dutch oven and stir well.
  • Cover and bake at 350 degrees for three hours. (Make sure your cover is oven safe!)
  • Stir every hour or so to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.
  • If you want it a little less thick, add another 1/2 cup to 1 full cup of beef stock.
Keyword baked stew, carrots, celery, comfort food, mushrooms, Potatoes, soup and stews, stew, venison, venison recipe, venison recipes, venison stew
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other venison recipes?

These are some of my favorite ways to use our venison each season!

JessLeave a comment
Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup

Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup

Gosh my friends, I love me some soup season. I do believe that I could eat soup every week without complaint, even in the heat of the summer. But this time of year? When fall is sneaking up on us and it’s sweatshirt season but the sun is still warm in the afternoon? That’s just about the perfect time of year. Around our house, it’s all the time we start thinking about clearing out our freezer because hunting season is just around the corner. Right now, our freezer is full of our Italian sausage inspired venison and we are using it in so many ways, including this awesome kale and white bean sausage soup. 

This soup was also inspired by one of my oldest friends. We don’t talk too often, but when we do, it often begins with a text about the food one of us is cooking. About a month ago, he texted me to say he loves cooking in cast iron for soup; that he often makes the soup in the morning, puts the cover on it, and lets the flavors meld together for a few hours. This time, it was a bean, roasted tomato, and artichoke soup. Well, needless to say, the pictures looked amazing!

Of course I needed it in my life

I switched it up a bit, adding the sausage and extra beans. When I described a kale and white bean sausage soup to my kiddos, they were immediately sold. I’ll be honest, I was a bit surprised they were ready for the kale as they don’t love cooked greens, but excited kids means mom has to make the soup pronto. 

When it was done, my babies ate multiple servings and I had to say that I was planning on leftovers for lunch the next day so they would stop. I hope your family loves it as much as mine did. It will definitely be a dinner one repeat at our house, I’ll tell you that! Let’s start cooking!

Your Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage (We use ground Italian venison. It’s great!)
  • 3 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 5 cups chicken stock 
  • 1 cup diced onion, about two small onions
  • 1 cup diced celery, about two ribs
  • 1 cup diced carrot
  • 1 ½ cups diced potatoes (I prefer Yukon gold) 
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups kale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Shaved Parmesan cheese, optional 

Your Steps to Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup

Begin to heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and brown. (Option to add a bit of oil to the pan before you add the sausage. I find that it helps keep the sausage from sticking.) 

Meanwhile, dice the onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Additionally, drain and rinse the cannellini beans. Combine 1 ½ cans of beans and about 1 cup of chicken stock. Blend with a stick (immersion) blender. I like to do this in a wide mouth mason jar. 

Once cooked through, remove browned sausage and drain. Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven and heat over medium. Once hot, add the diced onions, celery, and carrot. Cook until soft, about 7-10 minutes, stirring periodically. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Add the diced potatoes, beans, pureed beans, and remaining chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Add the kale and perhaps some shaved Parmesan as well as salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, 

Serve with crusty bread, a salad, and additional shaved Parmesan.

All the ingredients for Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup
Simple ingredients, great soup!
Soften them up.
Vegetables cooked down for soup
Veg and bean puree!
Nearly there.
Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup
Serve it up! Delish!

Tools of the Trade

I love all things from the The Lodge Cast Iron, but most of all, I love my Dutch Oven; so much so that I actually own three of them! They are great for soups and stews as well as bread baking. They can go straight in the oven from the stove top and hold heat so well. A stick blender is awesome in this recipe as well!

Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup

This Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup is a nutritious and hearty dish that is perfect for the fall season. It is sure to warm you up on a cold day.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 6

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 3 cans cannellini beans rinsed
  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup diced onion about two small onions
  • 1 cup diced celery about two ribs
  • 1 cup diced carrot
  • 1 ½ cups diced potatoes I prefer Yukon gold
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups kale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Shaved Parmesan cheese optional

Instructions
 

  • Begin to heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and brown. (Option to add a bit of oil to the pan before you add the sausage. I find that it helps keep the sausage from sticking.)
  • Meanwhile, dice the onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Additionally, drain and rinse the cannellini beans.
  • Combine 1 ½ cans of beans and about 1 cup of chicken stock. Blend with a stick (hand) blender.
  • Once cooked through, remove browned sausage and drain. Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven and heat over medium. Once hot, add the diced onions, celery, and carrot. Cook until soft, about 7-10 minutes, stirring periodically.
  • Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Add the diced potatoes, beans, pureed beans, and remaining chicken stock.
  • Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Add the kale and shaved Parmesan (optional) as well as salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, until the kale is soft.
  • Serve with a salad and crusty bread.
Keyword cannellini beans, cast iron, cast iron cooking, comfort food, dairy free, fall eats, Italian sausage, Italian venison, kale, Potatoes, soup, white bean
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Loved the Kale and White Bean Sausage SOup and Want more?

Check out my cooking page for all sorts of dinner inspiration! Or perhaps some of my favorites will tickle your fancy.

JessLeave a comment

Savory Venison and Wild Rice Bake

Ready for some savory venison and wild rice bake? I am so excited to share! Being a northern Wisconsin family, it may come as no surprise that a primary protein source at our house is venison. We harvest 2-4 deer a year between the gun and bow season and butcher them ourselves. Using our Kitchen Aid mixer, we grind upwards of 60 pounds of venison a year, which we use instead of ground beef or turkey 90% of the time. 

I’m always looking for new ways to use it, and this was a fun recipe to develop from scratch a few years ago. This venison and wild rice bake has a feel of tater tot hotdish (I’m close to the Minnesota border, don’t ya know?) with a true from scratch taste. You won’t find any “cream of whatever” soups in the ingredients; only true delicious wholesome foods here. I hope it becomes a go to comfort food for you like it has for us. 

Oh! And no ground venison? No problem! Substitute your favorite ground protein: beef, turkey, you name it. 

The ingredients For Venison and Wild Rice bake

  • 1 pound ground venison, seasoned with salt and pepper 
  • 6 cups low sodium chicken stock, divided
  • 1 cup long grain rice
  • 1 cup wild rice
  • 2 cups carrots, diced
  • 1 ¼ cup onion (1 large), diced
  • 1 ¼ cup celery (6 stalks), diced
  • 2 cups broccoli, diced
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
  • Olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sage
  • 2 teaspoons thyme
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour

Your Steps

In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups chicken stock to a boil. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic and wild rice. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Add long grain rice and cook for an additional 25-30 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water. You want your rice to just be tender. Test it at 40 minutes. If it gets over cooked, it will be mush once you bake it.

Meanwhile, dice and chop the onion, celery, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms. Heat a large kettle (I love my cast iron Dutch oven) with ½ to 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the vegetables (except the mushrooms) remaining garlic, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme, cooking on a medium heat for ten minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for an additional five minutes. Remove the vegetables from the kettle and place them in a large bowl. In the same pan (The less dishes, the better, right?), cook the ground venison (or hamburger or turkey) until no longer pink. Stir into the bowl of vegetables along with cooked rice. 

Now for the Creamy part

In the same kettle, melt the butter under medium heat. Stir in flour and continue to stir until you have a beautiful golden brown color. To this, add milk, 1/4 of a cup at a time, whisking until well combined and thickened. Repeat with the remaining chicken stock. Pepper to taste. Stir in to the vegetables, rice, and browned venison. Taste once more, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Spread the mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, until just crispy on the top and hot all the way through. Often, I will prep mine in the morning or the day before and refrigerate until we are ready to eat. If baked after being refrigerated, bake covered for 15 minutes and then gave it an additional 15-20 minutes without a cover. It will be perfectly crispy on the top and creamy in the middle. A wonderful comfort food. 

Sauté those vegetables.
Check that beautiful roux.
Slow and steady with the milk and stock.
Pour it in and mix it up!
Almost ready, just bake it!
So comforting. Yum.

Tools of the Trade

What are some tools I can’t live without? First, my Pyrex baking dishes are a go to for all things baked. And I love a lot of baked dishes. I also really dig my flexible cutting boards and my goodness, as silly as this sounds, this is my favorite whisk. I have had it for years and it’s truly the only one I use.

Savory Venison Wild Rice Bake

Savory herbs, two types of rice, and ground venison come together for a delicious venison and wild rice bake.
5 from 13 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course dinner
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground venison seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 6 cups low sodium chicken stock divided
  • 1 cup long grain rice
  • 1 cup wild rice
  • 2 cups carrots diced
  • 1 ¼ cup onion 1 large, diced
  • 1 ¼ cup celery 6 stalks, diced
  • 2 cups broccoli diced
  • 1 cup mushrooms sliced
  • Olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sage
  • 2 teaspoons thyme
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour

Instructions
 

  • In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups chicken stock to a boil. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic and wild rice. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Add long grain rice and cook for an additional 30-35 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water. You want your rice to just be tender. Test it at 40 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, dice and chop the onion, celery, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms. Heat a large kettle with ½ to 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the vegetables (except the mushrooms) remaining garlic, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme, cooking on a medium heat for ten minutes.
  • Add mushrooms and cook for an additional five minutes. Remove the vegetables from the kettle and place them in a large bowl.
  • In the same pan, add an additional 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and cook the ground venison (or hamburger or turkey) until no longer pink. Stir into the bowl of vegetables along with cooked rice.
  • In the same kettle, melt the butter under medium-low heat. Stir in flour and continue to stir until you have a beautiful golden brown color. To this, add milk, 1/4 of a cup at a time, whisking until well combined and thickened. Repeat with the remaining chicken stock. Pepper to taste.
  • Stir in to the vegetables, rice, and browned venison. Taste once more, adding salt and pepper as needed.
  • Spread the mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, until just crispy on the top and hot all the way through.

Notes

This can be prepped early, say the night before or in the morning. If baked after being refrigerated, bake covered for 15 minutes and then gave it an additional 15-20 minutes without a cover. It will be perfectly crispy on the top and creamy in the middle.
Keyword from scratch, rice pilaf, vegetables, venison, venison recipe, whole foods, wild rice
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Can I share some other favorites of mine?

Check out the recipes below for other meal inspiration!

Jess34 Comments

Venison and Wild Rice Casserole

Being a northern Wisconsin family, it may come as no surprise that a primary protein source at our house is venison. We harvest 2-4 deer a year between the gun and bow season and butcher them ourselves. Using our Kitchen Aid mixture, we grind upwards of 60 pounds of venison a year, which we use instead of ground beef or turkey 90% of the time. I’m always looking for new ways to use it, and this was a fun recipe to develop from scratch. This venison and wild rice casserole has a feel of tater tot hot dish (I’m close to the Minnesota border, don’t ya know?) with a true from scratch taste. It’s going to become a go to for comfort food, I’ll tell you that!

The ingredients FOr Venison and Wild Rice Casserole

  • 1 pound ground venison, seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic
  • 5 cups cooked rice, I did a mixture of wild and long grain
  • 1 ¼ cup onion (1 large), diced
  • 1 ¼ cup celery (6 stalks), diced
  • 2 cups carrots, diced
  • 1 cup mushrooms, diced
  • 2 cups broccoli, diced
  • Olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sage
  • 2 teaspoons thyme
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup chicken stock

Your Steps

If you don’t have cooked rice, start there. I wanted both wild and long grain, so I got enough water boiling for both, and started the wild rice 10 minutes prior to adding the long grain as it takes longer to cook. Follow the directions on the back of the package. I cooked 1 cup of dry wild rice and 1 cup long grain rice which resulted in lots of leftover rice for another meal later down the road. I added a little chicken broth base (I love Orrington Farms) and pepper to just season the water a little.

Meanwhile, dice all of your veggies. I love all the color they bring together. Heat a large kettle (I used my Dutch oven) with ½ to 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the veggies, garlic, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme, cooking on a medium heat until the carrots are just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the veggies from the kettle, putting them in a large bowl. In your same pan (The less dishes, the better, right?), cook the ground venison (or hamburger or turkey) until no longer red. Stir into the bowl of vegetables along with your cooked rice.

In your kettle, melt the butter under medium heat. Stir in flour and continue to stir until you have a beautiful golden brown color. To this, add milk, ⅓ of a cup at a time, whisking until well combined and thickened. Repeat with the chicken stock. (I again added some pepper here to taste, but it certainly isn’t needed). Stir this cream mixture over the vegetables, venison, and rice mixture.

I try to avoid “cream of…” soups, and this was my first attempt at a healthier substitute. I’m in love.

Spread your delicious casserole mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. I actually prepped mine in the morning, stuck it in the refrigerator,  and baked it in the evening. Since it was cold, I baked it covered for 15 minutes and then gave it an additional 15-20 minutes without a cover. It was perfectly crispy on the top and creamy in the middle. A wonderful comfort food.

Pre-baked casserole.

JessLeave a comment