Deer Meat Stew
In this púufich (deer/deer meat) stew I used deer meat from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, in Maidu territory. More specifically near where the Yauko settlement may have been located, according to an old map in the CSU Chico digital library. Some California tribes traditionally cooked deer meat inside an acorn soup, thickened with acorn flour and nutmeats. In a contemporary twist, use the acorn flour to dredge the venison and it will make what is essentially a roux that will thicken up the stew like acorn gravy. This recipe can be cooked using a pressure cooker, braised in an oven, or outside in a dutch oven. I paired it with creamy, bright heirloom red corn grits because dried corn is so prolific in the Fall, but it is just as hearty all on its own.
Ingredients
2 pounds deer meat (shanks, or cubed shoulder work the best for long braising or pressure cooking)
Note: Sometimes venison can take on a gamey flavor depending on where and when you get your deer meat. If you’d like to soften that gaminess you can brine it overnight in a saltwater brine (1/4 cup salt to 1 gallon of water) with bay leaves, juniper berries, Douglas fir tips, herbs, peppercorns, whatever you want, it’s up to you. I didn’t brine this time because my deer was sweet and lived a life of eating, what I can only surmise, must have been a field of donuts.
2 tbs bacon fat or lard (any oil will be fine)
1/2 cup acorn flour
1 onion
2-3 carrots
2-3 celery ribs
garlic (several cloves)
1 can of diced fire roasted tomatoes, or roasted tomatoes from your garden
1 tsp tomato paste
64 oz vegetable stock (homemade, unsalted, or low-sodium is fine if you’re watching your salt intake)
2-3 tbsp chopped sage or whatever herbs you love the most
5 dried bay leaves (or 1 fresh bay laurel leaf)
salt & pepper
Instructions
Heat oven to 300 degrees if braising in the oven, if using a pressure cooker, skip this step.
In a food processor, finely chop the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic (or do it by hand if you don’t have a food processor)
Put cubed venison or shanks into a bowl. Add salt & pepper and acorn flour. Toss your shanks/stew meat in the flour until well coated.
Heat bacon fat in large dutch oven or pressure cooker over medium heat, brown your meat very well on all sides, remove meat from the pot and set aside.
Add your chopped vegetables to your dutch oven or pressure cooker, add salt to taste and stir, scraping up any brown bits. Then add the tomato paste, cooking it a bit.
Add some vegetable stock to deglaze the bottom, scraping up any bits, then add the tomatoes and the meat back to the pot, with herbs and bay leaf. Add stock to cover 2 inches over the meat. You can add more if you’re braising in the oven, the liquid evaporates and makes a nice thick stew.
Cover and put in the oven for 2-3 hours until meat is falling off the bone if using shanks, or easily pulls apart if using stew meat. Removing the lid for the last hour will help reduce the liquid and thicken your stew.
Spoon stew over grits and top with chopped herbs.
