JAPANESE STYLE VENISON NECK STEW
Updated: May 3
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This delicious and hearty venison stew is one of my all-time favorite wild game recipes. I like to use arguably the best braising cut on a deer, the neck, which is my top choice when making venison stews or soups. But this dish is just as delicious using boneless shoulder stew meat or one of my other favorites, shanks. These venison morsels are fall apart tender and paired with the potatoes and noodles, it makes for the perfect bite.
My entire family loves this stew, mainly because it contains double carbs (potatoes and pasta). But fear not, it's also filled with a healthy dose of hearty carrots as well. They usually go head over heels for my venison pozole, but they say that this is dish on another comfort food level.
What Classifies as Venison Stew Meat?
You can use any piece of deer meat that is suitable for braising is considered a stew meat. This would be any cut that has a fair amount of connective tissue and silver skin such as shanks, necks, ribs or shoulders. These cuts can come from elk, moose, antelope, whitetail deer or sika deer.
Vessels For Braising the Venison
1. Dutch Oven. You can braise the venison in a dutch oven on your stove top at a slow simmer until it's tender. You can also place the dutch oven in your oven set to 330 degrees F
2. Crock Pot. The easiest way (and my favorite way) for deer meat slow cooker stew is to use a crock pot. Place the venison in your slow cooker and pour in enough liquid to cover the meat by around %75. You can cook deer necks on the low setting for around 10 to 12 hours and on your high setting for around 8 to 10 hours.
3. Instant Pot. The quickest way to reach ultra tender deer meat in the shortest amount of time is to use an instant pot or electric pressure cooker. You can have deer meat that is fall off the bone in around 1 hour.
Searing For More Flavor
If you're looking for a little added flavor and texture, try searing your deer meat. You can do this before or after it's been slow cooked. To do this before it has been braised, simply heat a dutch over or a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot add a few tablespoons of olive oil and cook on all sides until the meat is nice and golden brown. You can remove the meat from the pan and deglaze it with a little water. You can now use this glazing liquid to pour into your stew for a superb flavor.
For even more texture, I recommend searing the meat after it has been shredded. Heat a skillet over medium high heat with cooking oil. Once the oil starts to lightly smoke, add the shredded deer meat to the pan and sear in on one side until is has a beautiful looking crust.
Want to Make This a One Pot Meal?
If you want to make this a simple and easy one pot recipe, you can opt to leave out the noodles. I think that the ramen style noodles really elevate this dish, but sometimes we need to cut corners due to time constraints. You could also swap out the noodles for leftover rice if you have any sitting in the fridge.
Looking for other venison stew meat recipes? These are a few of my favorites:
Lastly, if you make this venison stew recipe, be sure to leave a comment or tag me on Instagram! I thoroughly enjoy hearing feedback and checking out the photos of recipes that you've made.
JAPANESE STYLE VENISON NECK STEW
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 4 t0 5 Hours
Servings: 4
Author: Larry White
INGREDIENTS
1 venison neck or (2 pounds boneless venison)
water or venison stock or beef broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup red onion, small dice
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sake, shaoxing wine or dry white wine
1 piece of kombu or 2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced (green parts only)
2 cups cooked ramen style noodles
DIRECTIONS
In a large pot, heat your olive oil over medium high heat. Season the venison neck with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot and begins to shimmer, add the venison neck. Sear the neck on all sides until it is nice and golden brown.
Pour in enough water or venison stock to just cover the meat. Cover and simmer until tender, about 3 to 4 hours. Periodically check the water level. If it gets below the top of the meat, add a little more water or stock to cover.
When the deer meat is fork tender, remove it from the broth. Reserve 4 cups of the cooking liquid to use for step 4. Shred the meat and set aside.
Pour the reserved 4 cups of cooking liquid into the pot along with the piece of kombu. Bring to a slow simmer. Once you reach a simmer, turn off the heat for 10 minutes. This lets the kombu insure the broth. Remove and discard the piece of kombu.
Add the onions, carrots, potatoes, mirin and sake to the pot. Bring to a slow simmer and cook until the potatoes are almost fork tender, about 12 minutes. Add the picked venison, soy sauce, sugar and green onions to the pot. Simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Turn off the heat and add the pre-cooked noodles. Gently stir and cover the pot to warm the noodles through.
Serve with scallions and fresh cilantro.
MAKE AHEAD AND STORAGE
Make-Ahead: You can make this stew up to 3 days ahead of when you're planning to serve. Just wait to add the pasta until you reheat it.
How to Store: Cover with a lid and keep in your refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also cover securely and freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator for one whole day before reheating. If needed you can add a little stock to bring the consistency back to where you want it.
How to Reheat: After it has completely thawed, place in a large pot over low heat until completely warmed through.
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE NOTES
If you're worried at all about your deer carrying CWD , I recommend de-boning the neck before cooking to be on the safe side. You'll be sacrificing a little flavor, but you can always add in a couple small bones from a different cut to the pot before cooking the neck meat.
