Venison stroganoff features tender cuts of venison steak, mushrooms, and onions swimming in a thick and creamy sauce served over a bed of egg noodles.
Growing up I thought there was only one way venison could be enjoyed: chopped and sauteed with copious amounts of black pepper, butter, and onions. It was the only way my parents made it. Don't get me wrong, this rusticly simplistic dish is still one of my favorite ways to eat venison, but now I have opened my eyes to the endless possibilities this protein provides, such as this venison stroganoff recipe.
Venison Stroganoff
Modeled after the classic Russian dinner, Beef Stroganoff, I have made a few adaptations to tailor this recipe to the flavor of venison. My favorite change is the addition of brandy which adds additional sweetness and depth. If you don't have brandy on hand, bourbon whiskey would be a good substitution, or make it alcohol-free but substituting additional beef broth.
For simplicity, I use sliced baby bella mushrooms in this dish, but wild mushrooms would be particularly well suited to pair with wild game in this recipe.
Best Cut of Venison for Stroganoff
I recommend shoulder steaks for venison stroganoff, with leg roasts being a close second. For absolute tenderness, the best cut of venison will always be the tenderloin, followed by the backstrap, followed by leg roasts. However, I prefer to save the first two premium cuts for higher-end applications such as my marinated venison tenderloin and roasted venison loin recipes where the meat isn't cooked well done and drowned in sauce.
Since the venison steak is going to be sliced thin, any difference you notice in tenderness will be minimal. Additionally, the venison is simmered for 15 minutes which tenders it up some and fully cooks it. I hate cooking venison tenderloin or backstraps until well done, it just feels like a waste of a premium cut, but if you have a surplus of those cuts in your freezer, by all means...
What to Serve With Stroganoff
Egg noodles are my favorite pairing with stroganoff, similar to my beef and noodles recipe, there is just something intoxicating about coating tender egg noodles in a thick and creamy gravy. However, a runner up recommendation would be to make homemade spaetzle instead.
More Venison Dinner Recipes
Venison Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds venison steak (sliced ¼" thick)
- ¼ cup butter
- 8 ounces sliced bella mushrooms (or substitute wild mushrooms)
- 1 large onion (thinly sliced)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup brandy
- 1 ¼ cup beef broth (divided)
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 cup sour cream
- Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
- 12 oz bag of egg noodles
Instructions
- Melt butter in a saute pan set over medium heat and add mushrooms and onions. Stirring occasionally, saute until onions are tender and beginning to brown, add minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Remove onion, mushrooms, and garlic from the skillet and add sliced venison. Set skillet to medium-high and sear the venison until browned.
- Add brandy to the skillet and deglaze the pan by scraping any burnt-on bits from the bottom of the skillet so they incorporate into the liquid. Add 1 cup of beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, cover the skillet and reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Prepare the egg noodles according to package instructions while venison simmers.
- Add remaining ¼ cup of beef broth to a dish with flour, mix to combine until there are no lumps.
- After venison has simmered for 15 minutes, add mushrooms, onion, and garlic back to the skillet along with the flour mixture and sour cream. Stir to combine and serve over egg noodles when everything has sufficiently heated through.
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