Pressure Cooker Venison Stew

On the menu tonight – Pressure Cooker Venison Stew!

I was fortunate enough to have a friend give me some venison this year. One of the cuts he gave me was a bone in roast. I have a lot to do this weekend, so I decided to put the pressure cooker to work. I haven’t cooked a lot with venison, but the last time I cooked a venison roast, it was on the tough side. Maybe I didn’t cook it long enough…who knows? The important thing is I’m trying again.

For this dish, I brought the roast to room temperature before searing it. The meat was seasoned with Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, baking soda, and some onion powder. Baking soda?? Yes. I’m hedging my bets on tenderizing the meat by using a little baking soda. Without getting into a lot of science, the baking soda raises the pH on the meat’s surface, making it more difficult for the proteins to bond. The result? A more tender cut of meat.

Using the pressure cooker is my other trick for making a more tender cut of meat. The pressure and the high heat break down the connective tissue, similar to what happens when you slow cook, but in a lot less time.

I went mostly classic on this version, by using potatoes, onions, carrots, and parsnip. I did use a little cognac and I don’t know how classic that is, but it’s a nice addition.

Using the pressure cooker definitely shaves quite a bit of time off a dish that might otherwise take most of the day to cook. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you should definitely get one. They are so versatile and can literally save you hours of time in the kitchen. One of the more popular pressure cookers is the Instant Pot.

I hope you will try this dish! If you don’t have or don’t want to use venison, you could easily substitute beef.

Print Recipe

Pressure Cooker Venison Stew

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 4

Prep Time: 20 min – Cooking Time: 2 hrs – Total Time: 2 hrs 20 min

Pressure Cooker Venison Stew

Ingredients

• 2 lb Venison roast
• 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-1.5 in cubes
• 1 lb carrots, sliced into bite sized rounds
• 1 parsnip, sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1 Vidalia onion, rough chop
• 4 cloves garlic, rough chop
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2-4 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup cognac
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1 tsp baking soda

Instructions

1

Take the venison out of the packaging and pat it dry

2

sprinkle the baking soda all over the meat

3

season the meat with onion powder, salt and pepper, then let it come to room temperature

4

Pre-heat a cast iron skillet and sear all sides of the roast

5

Put the chopped vegetables in the pressure cooker

6

Pour in the stock, wine, and cognac

7

Place the meat on top

8

Put the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves on top

9

Set the pressure cooker for 2 hours

10

When the timer goes off, release the pressure and let rest at least 10 minutes

Notes

You could substitute beef for the venison and it would be delicious