Tender, thinly sliced venison, earthy cremini mushrooms, and a rich and creamy sauce, this classic venison stroganoff recipe has it all. Make sure to finish it off with fresh dill and serve over butter noodles to get the full experience.
There is nothing heartier than stew in my opinion. Any form of chopped meat with cut up veggies and a savory sauce qualifies as stew. Serve it over creamy mashed potatoes or noodles and I am sold. Some of my favorite meals are beef ragu with homemade pappardelle and chicken chasseur. Both of those dishes are not quite soup and not quite a roast meat, so I suppose stew is the best way to describe them!
Stroganoff is the same. There is lots of meat, mushrooms, and onions in this dish. But there is also a lot of sauce. It's made with broth and sour cream, and there is a lot of it. Perfect for soaking up in a piece of rustic sourdough bread or on a bed of butter noodles.
Is venison good in stroganoff?
Totally! Stroganoff to me is a rich, warming dish. One that you would want to make after a long day camping or hunting. And what better meat to use than fresh deer meat that you harvested yourself?
You will have to be careful to not overcook the venison meat, lest it become tough. But also long as you are mindful when cooking, venison makes a wonderful meat for serving in stroganoff.
If your looking to try more beginner venison recipes, you may enjoy venison medallions with balsamic onions, Venison Fajitas, or easy venison ragu.
Ingredients
- Venison: Either backstrap, roast, or steak.
- Cremini mushrooms: Also known as "baby bellas." White button mushrooms would also be great, really any type of mushroom works in this rustic dish.
- Onion: I used yellow onion in this recipe. You can also use shallot for a milder onion flavor.
- Sour cream: You can also us greek yogurt. They aren't exactly the same but they will provide a similar flavor and texture to the dish.
- Butter: A bit is needed to brown the meat as well as to help create the roux.
- Flour: All purpose flour is used as a thickener.
- Dry white wine: Such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay. If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, you can just use extra broth.
- Worcestershire sauce: This adds a little nuance to the stroganoff sauce. I love adding worcestershire to my venison recipes, I feel add compliments the meat very well.
- Broth: Chicken, beef, or venison broth if you have it.
- Garlic: Fresh minced garlic for best taste.
- Fresh dill: This adds a little brightness to the rich sauce.
- Salt and fresh cracked black pepper: Add to taste.
How to Make Venison Stroganoff
Step 1. In a low bowl, add thinly slice venison steak.
Step 2. Combine salt, pepper, and flour. and coat it in the flour mixture.
Step 3: In a large skillet, melt half of the butter over medium heat. Sear venison meat on both sides to brown. Do not over cook. Remove meat to a side plate to rest. You may have to work in stages.
Step 4. In the same skillet, add the remaining butter along with onions and minced garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes, until they release their liquid.
Step 5. Deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan.
Step 6. Add worcestershire sauce and stock and stir.
Step 7. Simmer for 5 minutes on low. Add venison meat back into the skillet and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Step 8. Remove from heat and add sour cream and fresh chopped dill. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Recipe Tip
This recipe is pretty user friendly, the one thing you will want to watch is making sure not to overcook the deer meat. Since venison is so lean, it can go from tender to tough in a minute. Watch the meat carefully and err on the side of undercooking rather than over. Once the sauce is done, you will put the meat back in to finish cooking for a few additional minutes.
How to serve stroganoff
Serve deer meat stroganoff over egg noodles or on a bed of mashed potatoes. Crusty bread works well, too. You just want to make sure you have something that helps soak up all of that delicious sauce. Some over options are gnocchi, spaetzle, or rice.
Variations and Substitutions
- If you have ground deer meat, making this a ground venison stroganoff would be great!
- You can use a different meat. Don't like venison or don't have any available to you? Simply substitute the deer meat for chicken, beef, or pork (or another type of wild game).
- You can use greek yogurt instead of sour cream if you need. We don't always have sour cream on hand and whole milk greek yogurt works well as a substitute.
- Sub in a can or two of sliced mushrooms for the fresh version.
Storage
Store any leftover venison stroganoff in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Reheat leftovers in the microwave or on the stove.
More venison recipes
If you tried this Venison Stroganoff or any other recipe on Season and Thyme, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love to hear from you.
Venison Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1 lb. venison backstrap roast, or steak
- 10 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium onion sliced thinly
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ stick butter
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup chicken broth or beef broth or venison broth if you have it
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp. fresh dill chopped
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a low bowl, combine salt, pepper, and flour.
- Thinly slice venison steak and coat it in the flour mixture.
- In a large skillet, melt ½ of the butter over medium heat. Sear venison meat on both sides to brown. Do not over cook. Remove meat to a side plate to rest. You may have to work in stages.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining butter along with onions and minced garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes, until they release their liquid.
- Deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add worcestershire sauce and stock and stir. Simmer for 5 minutes on low. Add venison meat back into the skillet and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add sour cream and fresh chopped dill. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Suzanne
Your recipe was so helpful and the end result was so good! My one worry was overcooking the venison and I didn't. We didn't white wine in the house, but there was marsala wine that I used instead. Sure it changed the flavor some but I thought overall it was a fantastic success! Thank you so much!
Sarah Baumeister
I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you, glad you enjoyed.