Country-Style Venison

If you’ve got venison in the freezer and a lazy afternoon ahead, this is your recipe.

Chunky cubes of venison chuck get seared hard in hot oil, then braise low and slow in red wine and water until they turn melt-in-your-mouth tender.

The vegetables go in toward the end: whole carrots, small onions, potatoes, celery, a pound of fresh mushrooms, and a pleasant surprise of kohlrabi that adds its own mild, sweet crunch to the bowl.

Serve the whole thing ladled over steaming rice with a scattering of fresh parsley.

Kitchen Tips

• Sear the venison in small batches so the cubes brown instead of steam. Crowding the skillet is the enemy of a good crust.
• Use a full-bodied dry red wine you’d actually drink. The flavor concentrates during the simmer, so cheap cooking wine will taste like it.
• Venison is leaner than beef, so the long braise is essential. Cutting the time short leaves you with tough, chewy meat.
• If you can’t find kohlrabi, turnip or rutabaga makes a solid stand-in with a similar earthy sweetness.