Deer stew

Last season was tough. during any of the deer seasons these days i only get one weekend of one 2 week rifle season to harvest meat. last year was nil. and it showed in the freezer. 

with this year we had deer back on the menu.

and the first menu of the harvest was stew.

the scrap turned to stew meat.

when small cubed i roll in a cornstarch/flour mix. not only will this develop the sear but will thicken the stock during cook. 

just don't let the meat gingerly roll around in the hay, 

get in there. push the powder into the moist fibrous meat.

your results will be tastier. 

the blinding halo is a half round aluminum foil wrap dome that keeps the spatter down.

just before kneading the powder into the meat i added oil to the dutch oven and started the heat.

we will want to seal the meat in a contributing skin that will create AWESOME results.

for all of those pioneers that grew up with deer, this will be a new experience.

my dad will agree with this.

soft tender lean meat that melts in the mouth. 

this is the first batch in a long while so the vegetables will be kept "poor and proper".

if a garden fails, the only veg likely to be sustaining is the potatoes and onions.

maybe "reliable" is a better word than "poor and proper".

the stew ready to go. 

this is great as it is, but i will add a bit more starch to thicken up the experience.

the deer is actually so tender that i want the medium to be thicker. 

served up ready for consumption. this deer stew is all about the deer and deer infused stock.

so damn good that the atheist just may find religion. 

and the results are as i wrote above.

a culinary heaven that fits in our infinite plains-style horizon. 

the bowl is actually a cobalt blue vessel that failed when i made in japan.

 i made it not according to instruction, although i did try.

i was embarrassed at the time but really grown to like over the years.

sort of like the growth and decay line of the WWI trench artists.