Venison stew – or goulash…

Do you like game? You probably love it as we do too, but truth is that it you cannot get it as often as other regular meets. Eating various types of game is more of a festive affair and that is why we should treat game as such. A special event. We tried a deer leg (venison) and it was awesome. A truly unique experience and we enjoyed going through the preparation and cooking process. It is not difficult to prepare game but it takes time. Sometimes you have to remove the tougher membranes from the leg but other than that you just cut the meat into smaller pieces and that’s it. We cut medium-sized pieces to preserve the texture and the typical appearance of the meat. So, what do you need to prepare venison and what is the correct procedure? We shall tell you in the following lines. We have also included a video clip for better clarity.

Photo: Radek Štěpán

Ingredients

You will need many ingredients so, check beforehand to make sure you have everything at home:

• about 1 kg of deer leg,
• 2 large peeled onions,
• 1 litre of high-quality beef broth,
• 4 cloves of garlic,
• 2 star anise,
• 2 spoons of lard, or the same amount of oil,
• 1 spoonful of tomato paste,
• 3 bay leaves,
• salt and pepper

Photo: Radek Štěpán

Making a good base is very important

First , chop the onion. You don’t need to make fine pieces. Now, get a pot and melt the lard in it. Put the onion pieces in it and sauté them. Make sure the pieces turn brown but do not burn them. Now, add the meat. The temperature should be high so, the meat fries quickly. First, the meat should release the juice and then you need to cook it thoroughly. If you do it properly the meat will be tender and juicy and will not lose any taste. There should be only a little juice and fat left in the pot Now, you saute the meat until golden brown.

Photo: Radek Štěpán

Low heat cooking

Once the meat is nice and brown, you can add tomato puree and sauté for about 2 minutes. Now, you add the spices, garlic, star anise and bay leaves, pepper and salt – one spoonful of salt. Now the broth. Pour it into the pot and bring it to a boil – cover the pot with a lid and cook everything on a low heat for about 1.5 hours. In short, you need to cook it until the meat is soft. You may add salt if needed. If you want a “visual recipe”, please watch the following video.

YouTube: Radek Štěpán

Preview photo: Radek Štěpán