Flavourful Venison Goulash (Hirschgulasch)

This is a flavourful venison goulash with cranberry sauce, mushrooms and carrots. A wonderful hearty dish that is delicious in the autumn and winter months.

Course Main Course

Cuisine German

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3 15

Servings people

Calories 219kcal

Equipment

a large pot at least 5 l

Ingredients

For the Stew

1 kg venison meat cut into 2 cm (¾-inch) chunks
3 tablespoon clarified butter if that is not available use 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon butter for the buttery taste
200 g onions
200 g carrots
200 g mushrooms I use champignons (button mushrooms), but any variety works
2 tablespoon tomato paste

Spices

6 juniper berries
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
Fresh thyme sprigs can be replaced with 2 teaspoons dried thyme

Liquids

200 ml dry red wine
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar can be replaced with balsamic vinegar
500 ml venison stock/broth if not available then replace with beef stock /broth
4 tablespoons cranberry sauce more for serving

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pat the venison chunks completely dry with paper towels (this helps them brown properly). Finely slice the onions and roughly chop the carrots and mushrooms into similar-sized pieces.
Crush the juniper berries using a pestle and mortar or the back of a heavy spoon. Bundle them with the thyme, cloves, and bay leaves in a spice bag or loose tea bag for easy removal later. (You can also add them loose and fish them out before serving.)
Heat the clarified butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches if needed, brown the venison on all sides for about 2 minutes total. Don't overcrowd the pan! Remove the browned meat to a plate and set aside.
In the same pot, add the onions, carrots, and mushrooms. Sauté until the onions begin to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another minute until fragrant. Pour in the red wine and stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Return the venison to the pot along with the spice bundle, cranberry sauce, and vinegar. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover with a lid and reduce heat to low.
Let the goulash cook gently for 2½ to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The venison should become so tender it nearly falls apart when pressed with a fork. Check the liquid level periodically—if it's reducing too quickly, add a splash of stock or water.
After 3 hours, taste and adjust seasoning. If the sauce is too thin, mix 2 tablespoons cornflour with 2 tablespoons cold water to make a slurry. Stir it into the goulash and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened. If it's too thick, simply add more broth.
Remove the spice bundle. Serve the venison goulash in deep bowls with extra cranberry sauce on the side.

To make vension stew in a slow cooker / crockpot

Follow steps 1-4 on the stovetop to brown the meat and build the flavor base. Transfer everything to your slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours until the venison is fall-apart tender.

Notes

I strongly recommend having a look at the step-by-step instruction pictures on the main post.

Side dishes

Anything that soaks up sauce goes well with venison goulash. Perfect side dishes for this stew are:

Vegetable side dishes that go well with venison include:

German red cabbage
Butter vegetables
braised cabbage
boiled broccoli or cauliflower

Storage Instructions

Like many stews, this dish might taste even better the next day, when the flavours have time to infuse. The goulash will stay good in the fridge for up to four days when kept in an airtight container. Simply reheat in the stove or microwave.

If you want to freeze this deer stew, it will stay good for up to three months.

Nutrition