Spicy Beer-Braised Venison Stew

Quiz time.

What do you do when you have a cornbread muffin you want to get rid of?

Do you eat it by itself? Seems logical.

Or half of a 24-ounce bottle of day old beer left in the fridge?

Do you throw it out? Also, seems logical. 

Apparently I defy logic. Because my immediate response is to make a big pot of soup to use up the beer and to eat with the muffin.



I have that habit. When there is one small thing to use up, I end up making a huge pot of soup to make it happen.

But, I'm not complaining. I love soup.

Even though it's 100º outside.

As soon as I decided I was going to use the beer to braise some kind of meat, I started searching.

I found:
1 pound of venison backstrap in the freezer.
1 jalapeño that was almost bad
1 hatch chili pepper that was almost bad
5 tomatillos I  just bought at the store with no purpose in mind
1 large onion that I also bought with no purpose in mind
1 bag of frozen okra that was a few months old
2 opened containers of vegetable broth

So, with those base ingredients in mind I set out to create a stew.

I think it turned out pretty well.

Here is the full recipe.

Spicy Beer-Braised Venison Stew
2 tablespoons bacon grease (you can substitute olive oil)
1/2 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 hatch chili pepper
1 jalapeño
5 tomatillos, outside covering removed
1 pound venison backstrap, cut into 1-inch strips (I only used this because I had it in the freezer. You could also use any lean red meat like flank steak or cube steak.)
12 ounces beer of choice (I used Sierra Nevada Pale Ale)
3 cups vegetable broth (Beef broth would work also, I just didn't have any.)
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 16-ounce bag frozen okra, thawed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon Cholula hot sauce (or what you have available to you)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a medium saucepan, cover hatch pepper, jalapeño, and tomatillos with water and bring to a boil. Cook until tomatillos are tender. Once done, remove from water and set aside.

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion has caramelized. While onion and garlice are cooking, slice boiled peppers and tomatillos into smaller pieces. Add to caramelized onions. Cook, stirring ofter, for 5 minutes.

Add venison and cook until browned.

Pour in beer and cook until alcohol taste has cooked out.

Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, okra, and seasoning. Stir to combine.

Bring back to a boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with cornbread, if you have any around the house.