Barbecue Pulled Venison Recipe

Kevin and I were both craving barbecue pulled pork. Unfortunately, our freezer was fresh out of any suitable meat. That is, until a crazy idea popped into my head. What if I used that venison stew meat? Would that be any good? Would it ruin the meat? I wouldn't know unless I tried. 

And WOWZERS, I'm so glad I gave it a try. With my homemade tangy barbecue recipe on hand and this beautiful, lean venison stew meat, we ended up with an irresistibly tender pulled venison. Who would've though? Browning the meat in a skillet is key to developing the best flavor before transferring the meat to the crockpot. Then, that slow cooker does all the work for the next few hours. Once the venison is falling apart, a pair of forks does the rest of a work. I can't wait to try this again! 

Barbecue Pulled Venison Recipe

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

Makes 4 servings 

Ingredients

1 pound venison stew meat

salt 

pepper

1-1/2 cups tangy barbecue sauce

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

Preheat a large skillet to medium high heat. Once heated, add in stew meat, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and brown on each side. 

Spray a 4 quart slow cooker with non-stick spray and add cooked meat. Stir in barbecue sauce, onion, and garlic. Cook on high 6 hours. Using two forks pull each piece of meat apart until evenly shredded. 

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Homemade Tangy Barbecue Sauce Recipe

There's just something satisfying about making your own basic ingredients. Yes, it's "normal" and oh-so-simple to pick up a jar of your favorite barbecue sauce off of the store shelves. I've done it. I have my favorites. But knowing exactly what is in my delicious sweet, sticky, spicy sauce makes me feel that much better about what I'm eating. (Even if there is a lot of sugar involved. :D)  

Homemade Tangy Barbecue Sauce Recipe

recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Makes 4 cups sauce 

Ingredients

1-1/4 cup brown sugar

1-1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2-1/2 tsp ground mustard

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp chili powder 

2 tsp Italian seasoning 

1-1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper 

Directions

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients and whisk together until even. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (or freeze)

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Garlic Ginger Beef Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe

Sometimes I find meat in the back crevices of the freezer and I am embarrassed to admit how long it's been stored. I'm some sort of a weird combination of bargain-hunter and food-hoarder. I find great deals, but then don't want to actually use it up. Ridiculous, right? 

Anyways, I found these lovely strip steaks, and knew they would need some fantastic flavor to overwrite their age. :) This sweet garlic-ginger stir fry was the perfect solution! This is a fast and easy dinner idea. The longest part is cooking the rice. 

Garlic Ginger Beef Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe 

recipe inspired by Rebecca on Tasty Kitchen

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 New York Strip steaks

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 - 1 inch piece candied ginger, finely chopped

2 Tbsp brown sugar

3 Tbsp soy sauce

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2 cups cooked brown rice

2 cups steamed broccoli 

Directions

Slice each steak into thin strips, working against the grain. 

In a large skillet add the canola oil and heat over medium. Once hot, add in garlic and ginger and cook 1-2 minutes. Arrange the beef slices in the pan and cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Sprinkle in brown sugar and soy sauce. Stir to coat the beef with the sugar. Cook another 5 minutes until sticky, like syrup. 

Serve beef atop brown rice and steamed broccoli. Add additional soy sauce if desired. 

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Vegetable Beef (Venison) Barley Soup Recipe

As I've mentioned before, I'm not a big meat lover. But can I just be honest with you--this was THE BEST stew I have ever had in my entire life (or at least the best stew I've ever made.:D) The taste of venison sometimes weirds me out, but this was melt-in-your-mouth perfection. I stopped Kevin in the middle of a sentence to express my love for the bowl of stew in front of me. It's THAT good. 

The trick is to brown the meat in a hot skillet to form a beautiful crisp edge to seal in that flavor and add to the tenderness. Don't skip that step! The tender meat, combined with the thickness of the barley and the hearty vegetables make this stew incredible! Go on, now, TRY IT! 

Vegetable Beef (Venison) Barley Soup Recipe

recipe from Betty Crocker Cookbook

Serves 6

Ingredients

canola oil

1 pound venison or beef stew meat

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup 1-inch pieces of fresh or frozen green beans

1/3 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/3 cup uncooked barley

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried thymed

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup beef broth or bouillon

1 -14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

4 oz tomato sauce

Directions

In a large skillet, drizzle canola oil and heat over medium. Cut the stew meat into smaller, bite sized pieces if necessary. Add in stew meat and cook on each side until crisp and browned. This is the key to delicious depth of flavor and tender stew meat!

Combine the meat and the remaining ingredients in a 5 quart slow cooker and cook on high 6-7 hours. 

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