Venison Bourguignon

From the original article on October 1, 2021. Author: Forest Seeker.

For winter I've chosen venison bourguignon. Imagine a cold, wintry, day; a mother on a traditional homestead assembling ingredients from the remnants of her larder in preparation for a celebration; herbs, potatoes, onions, garlic, a few dried mushrooms, a good bottle of wine, and a nice haunch of venison from the bottom of her ice box. In my home, venison bourguignon is a Christmas dish anchored in the timeworn tradition of assembling a celebratory meal from the preserved remnants of last summer's bounty. My preparation is geared towards a more formal dinner: slow-cooked venison topped with a rich, dark sauce and garnished with freshly prepared mushrooms and herbs. But waste not want not, I greatly enjoy mixing the next day's reheated leftovers with the rendered-down bacon and vegetables set aside from our fancier presentation the night before, as outlined in the recipe below.

Recipe customization: Substitute beef brisket, stew beef, or chuck steak for venison if you wish. Either way, I highly recommend cooking your bourguignon down with any bones you have handy. I cut my venison off the bone into properly sized cubes, then throw the bone into the stew to cook down with the meat, optimally broken in a few places so as to allow the marrow to permeate and unlock the maximum health benefits. Fresh mushrooms are my preference, but dried are more traditional, and they bring their own rich flavor to the dish.

Ingredients

1 large roughly chopped white or yellow onion
1 large carrot sliced into 1/2-inch-thick medallions
10 cloves finely minced garlic, separated into two equal piles
10-20 small pearl onions
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, divided for garnish and recipe (1 tbsp respectively)
1 pound fresh or dried white or brown mushrooms (cut into quarters if fresh)
2 bay leaves
Olive oil
1/2 pounds bacon, each slice roughly chopped in half into squares
4 pounds venison, cut into 2-inch chunks (any roasting cut is good, I've used anything from scraps to a whole venison hind-leg on the bone).
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups drinkable dry red wine (pinot noir, merlot, or chianti)
2 cups beef stock/bone broth
2 tablespoons butter

Makes roughly 4-6 servings.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Put your oven-safe stock pot or Dutch oven on your stovetop and fry the bacon in olive oil until slightly browned. Make sure to keep temperatures relatively low so as to not burn the bottom of your pot. Set the bacon aside.
Salt and pepper the venison, then sear it on all sides in the fat/oil from the bacon. Add to the plate/container where you've put your bacon.
Add carrots and onions to the pot, then fry in the oil/fat from earlier until soft (add more oil if vegetables are sticking to the bottom of the pot). Add half the garlic, fry for 1 minute, then add the bacon and venison back in. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.
Add wine, and scrape the fond that's built up on the bottom of the pot. Add the stock/bone broth, tomato paste, and herbs (withholding 1 tbsp parsley for garnish). Stir to combine, cover, and place in the oven for 2-4 hours or until the meat is fork tender. If liquids have evaporated midway and you're in danger of burning, add more stock/bone broth.
Bring a small pot of water to a boil, cut the ends off one side of your pearl onions (this will help in removing skins), then toss them into the pot for 2-3 minutes uncovered. Remove from the water, and once they are cool enough to touch you should be able to just squeeze the onion skins off. Reserve in a bowl for later.
Place a colander over a bowl and pour the venison and liquid through this. Take the resulting liquid and bring to a gentle simmer on your stove top. Separate the meat from the vegetables. Discard any bones. Separating the vegetables from the meat and sauce allows you to creative a very rich and professional-looking dish, so I do believe it to be an important step. I like to save the cooked-down vegetables to add to leftover stew the next day.
Once the simmering liquid has reached a consistency thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it’s ready. If it’s not getting there properly, or you're in a rush, you can fork together a 50/50 mixture of 1 tbsp butter and flour. Mix this into the liquid and you will notice it thickens quite well. If it’s too thick, mix in some more bone broth or stock.
While the sauce is reducing, fry the mushrooms in butter. Do not move the mushrooms excessively, as this causes them to bleed liquid and lose the “crust” they develop. In the last minute or so of mushroom-cooking add the reserved garlic and a dash of parsley. When the garlic is golden, remove from heat and reserve.
Your bourguignon is now ready. Serve with mashed potatoes (rice or butter noodles are also acceptable substitutes). You can mix your meat, mushrooms, and pearl onions into your finished sauce before serving—or you can go fancy and place your meat on a bed of mashed potatoes, dot with pearl onions and mushrooms, and then coat in your sauce. Garnish with parsley, and enjoy!

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