Venison Bourguignon
Denise Landis is the founder & CEO of The Cook's Cook.
This recipe is easily doubled or even tripled. For the best flavor, make it a day ahead of time. Leftovers can be frozen for many months. Venison Bourguignon may be served as is, or accompanied by boiled baby potatoes in their skins, mashed potatoes, or wild rice.
- Servings Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2 pounds) venison chuck, in 4 cm (1½ inch) cubes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 104 ml (7 tablespoons) olive oil
- 8 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1.25 cm (½ inch) strips
- 2 onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 60 grams (6 tablespoons) flour
- 100 grams (6 tablespoons) tomato paste
- 473 ml (2 cups) dry red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 16 small (about 4 cm/1½ inch diameter) whole boiling onions, peeled
- 454 grams (16 ounces) white button mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Preparation
1. Season venison with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 59 ml (4 tablespoons) of the oil. Add the bacon and sauté until lightly browned. Add the venison and sauté until browned on all sides.
2. Transfer venison and bacon to a heavy Dutch oven, and set aside. Add chopped onions and carrots to the skillet and sauté until onions are softened and carrots are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir well. Allow to cook 1 minute, then stir in tomato paste.
3. Add wine to the skillet along with 1 liter (4 cups) water. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan. Pour mixture into the Dutch oven. Add bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, 3 to 4 hours.
4. Toward end of cooking time, heat remaining 44 ml (3 tablespoons) olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add small whole onions and sauté until tender and browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté until mushrooms are barely tender, 2-3 minutes. Add mixture to pot of stew, and stir to combine. Serve immediately, or for best flavor allow to cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Reheat gently over medium-low heat, and serve.
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Denise Landis
Denise Landis had been employed as an archeologist for seven years before a food editor hired her to test some recipes from a cookbook manuscript. This short stint led to longer assignments, and two years later she began testing recipes for the New York Times. She has been a professional recipe tester and editor for over 25 years, is the author of a New York Times cookbook, and has written for numerous publications. She is a member of the New York Chapter of Les Dames d’ Escoffier.
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Denise, where did you buy the venison? I would like to make this using venison instead of beef.
When I’m offered venison from hunter friends I always gratefully accept! But venison can be ordered from a number of sources, including D’Artagnan at dartagnan.com.