Venison stew ('Hirschgulasch')
Venison stew ('Hirschgulasch')
- Prep time
- 14 min
- Cook time
- 31 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- For the venison:
- 1 lb (450 g) version stew-meat, cubed
- salt, to taste
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp lard
- For the stewing liquid:
- 1/2 lb onions (225 g), finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3.5 oz (100 g) smoked bacon, cut into tiny cubes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 sachet consisting of 3 juniper berries, 1 clove, 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries, 2 bay leaves, 1 rosemary sprig, 5 thyme sprigs
- 1 cup port wine
- 1 cup beef broth
- salt, to taste
- For the celeriac
- 5.5 oz (160 g) celeriac (celery root), cut into bite-sized cubes, about 1.5 cups total
- salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup clarified butter or canola oil, for deep-frying
- For serving:
- Lingonberry jam
Instructions
- 1
Sear the venison:
- 2
Lightly season the venison meat with salt to taste and dust with flour. Heat the lard in your pressure cooker or another large pot over high heat. Place the venison cubes in the pot in one even layer and sear them until golden on all sides. Set them aside.
- 3
Prepare the stewing liquid:
- 4
Turn down the heat to medium-low and add the onions, garlic, and bacon into your pot. Sweat the mixture for 3-4 minutes or until the onions turn translucent. Add the tomato paste and sweat for another minute. Deglaze the pan with port wine and beef broth. Add the stew meat and sachet to your pot and bring the stewing liquid to a simmer. If using a pressure cooker, cook the stew on the high-pressure setting for 20 minutes and let the pressure release naturally afterward. If using a traditional pot, gently let the goulash simmer, covered, for about 1.5 hours or until the meat is tender to your liking. Taste the finished stew and add extra salt if needed. I often don't add any additional salt as the bacon usually adds enough salt to the stew.
- 5
Cook the celeriac:
- 6
It's best to prepare the celeriac while the stew is simmering. Bring a pot of generously salted water to a heavy boil and blanch the celeriac cubes for 3-4 minutes. Shock the blanched celeriac cubes in ice water. Drain them and dust with the flour and cornstarch so that any excess moisture gets absorbed. It's ok if the flour forms little lumps.
- 7
Heat the clarified butter or oil in a small pot or saute pan to 350 °F (180 °C) and add the celeriac cubes. Fry them for 4-5 minutes until they turn lightly golden and crisp up. Drain them on a paper towel.
- 8
Serve the stew:
- 9
Just before serving, add the fried celeriac cubes into your stew. Serve with lingonberry jam on the side so that every diner can add the jam to his or her taste. Always serve this stew with a starchy side dish to soak up the gravy, for example bread dumplings, potato dumplings, spätzle, or duchess potatoes.