A Chilly Vespers Wherein I Make Venison Stew

If you're not from the Upper Midwest then know that it's colder than a well digger's ass today and was so yesterday. Here's what my thermometer looked like Sunday morning:



That's Fahrenheit on the right.

Such temperatures call for crankin' up the hearth and making a nice hearty meal. And I made it so. A friend of mine was gracious enough to give me some venison from this year's hunt and this allowed me to try a recipe that I've been meaning to for a while: a venison stew made with Guinness and endowed with mustard & horseradish dumplings.

I cried and cried as I cut the onions but all was forgiven once I had them all browned up along with the venison.



The recipe calls for using Guinness but I opted for a local brew – Central Waters' Satin Solstice Imperial Stout. Here I am pouring the brew into the pot along with some balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. The second photo is of my concoction just prior to being relegated to the oven for 2+ hours after having been seasoned.





First the kitchen then the whole apartment was permeated by the wonderful aroma of the stew which featured the bittersweet stout and bay leaves prominently with a hint of the juniper berries. In fact, the kitchen was still venison stew scented this morning.

A bit before the stew was done, I made dumplings. I quickly looked up ratios to make self-rising flour on the Internet and, before you know it, I'm cutting lard into the flour which was seasoned with mustard powder. The recipe called for horseradish sauce but I skipped the sauce and used plain old horseradish.



Fifteen minutes more in the oven, and dinner was ready.



The venison was very tender and had only a very mild gamey flavor. My choice of stout lent a slightly bitter flavor but not overly so and the dumplings were fairly light and fluffy. The baking powder had done its work.

All in all, a very tasty meal which took the chill off the cold winter night.