Wild In The Kitchen: Stewed Venison Shanks

Stewed Venison Shanks

When cleaning deer, I have always automatically cut off the legs and discarded them. Never again!

2 lower legs of a deer, skinned

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves minced garlic

3 medium carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 8-oz. cans of beef stock

1 14-oz. can tomatoes

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon each of finely chopped rosemary, thyme and oregano

1 cup flour

Cut venison shanks into 1 1/2-inch medallions. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Flour the venison shank discs and brown. Set aside. Melt butter and sauté the onion, garlic, carrot and celery over medium heat. Lay the pieces of shank over the bed of vegetables. Cover with the crushed tomatoes and spoon the tomato paste on top. Season with salt, pepper and herbs. Add the beef stock carefully so as to not completely cover the meat. Cover and simmer for three hours, checking the stock level every hour.