50 Nebraskaland • January-February 2019
Elk, Parsnip and Turnip Stew
Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
•
3 pounds elk (or deer) stew meat, do not remove silver
skin
•
Salt and pepper to taste
•
5 tablespoons flour
•
1 onion, chopped
•
Cooking oil
•
3 ribs of celery, cut into large sections
•
1 bay leaf
•
1 teaspoon dried rosemary or fresh leaves, chopped
•
1½ cups dry red wine
•
2 tablespoons tomato paste
•
5 garlic cloves, smashed
•
2 quarts unsalted/low sodium elk or beef stock
•
2 large carrots, chopped into large pieces
•
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped into large pieces
•
2 turnips, chopped into large pieces
•
Flat leaf parsley for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pat elk meat
dry with paper towels and toss with salt and pepper to taste
in a bowl. Then toss with the flour. In a Dutch oven, coat
the bottom with oil and heat over medium-high. Shake off
excess flour from elk meat and add meat to the hot oil (in
batches) and brown to form a nice crust. Set remaining flour
aside for a later step. Remove browned meat and set aside.
Add more oil to the pot. Add chopped onion, pinch of
salt, bay leaf, rosemary and celery and sauté until onion
turns translucent; lower heat if necessary to avoid
burning. Next, add the tomato paste, remaining flour from
step 1 and garlic, and sauté for 1 minute.
Add wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden
spoon to release brown bits. Allow wine to simmer and
reduce by one quarter. Return browned elk stew meat to the
pot and pour in elk or beef stock. Stir and bring to a low boil.
Take off heat. Cover the opening of the pot with foil,
and then place the lid on top – the foil helps to slow down
moisture loss. Cook in a 350-degree oven for about 1
hour and 30 minutes. Then discard the foil and add the
carrots, parsnips and turnips and continue to cook covered
for another 30-45 minutes until meat
and vegetables become tender. Taste
for seasoning and garnish with freshly
chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread.
This stew tastes better the day after.
– Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
PHOTO
BY
JENNY
NGUYEN-WHEATLEY
