Nordic Braised Venison
Why, hello you handsome plate of braised venison! Old Nordic recipes like this one remind me of growing up on the farm, especially in the winter when the Minnesota wind whips your face and it’s so cold that hell may have actually frozen over. The recent polar vortex this past week had me craving slow cooked, belly warming comfort food like this Nordic braised venison. The venison is complements of my hunter husband who also took our daughters on the annual hunt this year. Like me, my kiddos are growing up eating wild game and respecting how the animal is harvested and observing that direct link from nature to our food chain.
Traditionally, winter braised meats in the Nordic region were often reindeer but since I don’t have a surplus of reindeer running around here, venison or beef are equally suited to the task. I’ve used venison in this case but feel free to use a cut of beef in this dish if you prefer. A good low and slow braise in spices like allspice and juniper berries with a splash of vinegar and wine take the edge off game meat and turn it into something magical. The result is tender morsels of dark flavorful bites that go amazingly well over any type of root vegetable. You can also choose to not reduce the braising sauce quite as far and turn it into a savory gravy!
- 2 -3 pounds boneless venison roast (or beef or bison), trimmed and cubed in bite size pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt*
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 4-6 juniper berries, lightly crushed
- 1 cup water or low sodium beef broth
- ¼ cup red wine (or use cranberry juice)
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped, to garnish
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a dutch oven on stovetop, heat the oil and saute onion, celery and garlic just until softened.
- Add the remaining ingredients except the chives, cover and place in the oven.
- Cook 90-120 minutes or until the meat is tender.
- Remove from the oven.
- Place back on stovetop burner on medium high.
- Saute until the remaining liquid has mostly evaporated and the meat turns dark brown.
- Serve over baked potatoes (cook these at the same time as the meat), mashed potatoes, or other root vegetables.
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