There is something about a cozy bowl of wild game stroganoff, with its savoury broth ladeled overtop of mashed potatoes or noodles, that just hits the spot. When one eats the whole beast, you're left with many packages of stew meat (depending on how many you decide to grind) and we love this recipe as a way to enjoy the fork tender braised meat, beyond your basic meat/potatoes/carrot stew. Not that I have anything against such lovely stews! One just needs to mix it up sometimes!
This makes a great freezer meal that your future self will thank you for!
As always with the recipes I write, this recipe is flexible. Use your instant pot, slow cooker or a dutch oven. Use venison, moose, elk, bison, heck use beef or pork! What do you have? Use that!
Use fresh mushrooms you bought at the store or mushrooms you dried from foraging. No matter what meat you're using, the broth you use is pretty flexible. I will use chicken broth with venison and ive never had anyone complain! If you really dont have any broth, just use water, I wont tell your secret. I can tell you I've done about every combo there is, and they all work out terrific. A company worthy meal you can make way ahead of time.
I will say the wine is fairly important...it adds a depth hard to gain otherwise. If you cant use wine, use more broth. As for what wine? What do you have an open bottle of? Use that!
Just please try brown the meat first...it really makes a difference in flavour! While it often feels like an extra chore to brown the meat first, heres a couple ways I make it feel less like a chore.
1- Make sure your meat is fully thawed so it brown better and doesnt release more liquid. Making a meal plan and getting meat out ahead makes your days a lot easier.
2- Find something else to do while it browns. You're going to need to do it in batches, so could you wash dishes? Vacuum the floor? Help a kid with math? Heck put your feet up and read your book! Just set a 5 minute timer so you dont get too lost in your book and burn the meat...?
As far as I know, this is traditionally served with buttered egg noodles, but we happen to be a potato family, and the broth from this? on top of mashed potatoes? Its a special kind of magic.
Instant Pot Wild Game Stroganoff with Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 3 lbs stew meat venison, moose, elk, bison, beef or pork
- Olive oil or butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3-4 cups diced onion
- 4-6 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- ½ cup dried mushrooms, crumbled OR
- 3 cups diced fresh mushrooms
- 1 cup broth
- 1 cup white wine
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
- ⅔ cup sour cream
Instructions
Instant Pot:
- Turn onto onto saute, and melt some butter or olive oil just to cover the bottom of the pot.
- If the meat is really wet, pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
- Brown the meat in batches, putting meat in a bowl or plate to wait while you brown next batches.
- When all the meat is browned, saute the onions until theyre a little browned.
- Add in garlic, give a stir and then add in your broth and wine, stir, scraping the bottom, to get all those good browned bits!
- Add back in your meat, as well as mushrooms, tomato paste, worchestshire, mustard, salt and pepper.
- Put the lid on, set the valve to sealing, Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.
- When cooking time is done, let it sit for 20-30 minutes for pressure to naturally release.
- Release pressure with the valve. Take lid off.
- If you're going to eat it all right now, add in all the sour cream. If you plan to freeze some, take out half for freezing, add half the sour cream to the instant pot and stir it around.
- Taste for salt and pepper, serve on top of mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles.
- Keeps 3-4 days in fridge, or freeze without sour cream and when ready to eat, thaw, simmer and add in sour cream before serving.
Slow Cooker:
- Put a heavy bottomed pot or pan over medium heat.
- If the meat is really wet, pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add oil or butter to your pan and Brown the meat in batches, putting browned meat into your slow cooker to wait for you.
- When all the meat is browned, saute the onions until theyre a little browned.
- Add in garlic, give a stir and then add in your broth and wine, stir, scraping the bottom, to get all those good browned bits! Dump it into your slow cooker.
- Add in your mushrooms, tomato paste, worchestshire, mustard, salt and pepper. Put the lid on.
- Turn on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.
- If you're going to eat it all right now, add in all the sour cream. If you plan to freeze some, take out half for freezing, add half the sour cream to the instant pot and stir it around.
- Taste for salt and pepper, serve on top of mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles.
- Keeps 3-4 days in fridge, or freeze without sour cream and when ready to eat, thaw, simmer and add in sour cream before serving.
Dutch Oven/Covered pot in the Oven direction
- Preheat your oven to 350F
- Put your stove to oven safe dutch oven or heavy bottom pot on medium heat.
- If the meat is really wet, pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add oil or butter to your pan and Brown the meat in batches, putting browned meat onto a plate or bowl to wait for you.
- When all the meat is browned, saute the onions until they're a little browned.
- Add in garlic, give a stir and then add in your broth and wine, stir, scraping the bottom, to get all those good browned bits!
- Add back in your meat, as well as mushrooms, tomato paste, worchestshire, mustard, salt and pepper.
- Put the lid on and tuck into the oven for 1 hour.
- After an hour, take it out, stir it around, and gauge if it needs more. Depending on your meat, it may need another 30 minutes. You want it to easily pull apart with a fork. Depending on your pot, it may trap or let out a lot of moisture, so add a bit of water in if you think it doesnt look very saucy.
- If you're going to eat it all right now, add in all the sour cream. If you plan to freeze some, take out half for freezing, add half the sour cream to the instant pot and stir it around.
- Taste for salt and pepper, serve on top of mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles.
- Keeps 3-4 days in fridge, or freeze without sour cream and when ready to eat, thaw, simmer and add in sour cream before serving.
Nutrition
Want more cozy Wild Game Recipes?
Keep in mind you can swap out pretty much any red meat, so whether you have beef or wild game, you're ready to get cooking!
Amber
Yummy
Susanna
Made this with venison and am so excited to add it to our regular meal circulation, delicious! We didn’t have sour cream, so used Greek yogurt instead and worked out great.
mogrma
Waiting for our deer meat to be ready for pickup!
Kate
Yes, loved this so much. Thanks for sharing!
Laurie
I made this without wine and it was still amazing. Cant wait to try it with wine next time.
Holly
This is great with venison!
Erin jahnke
We are potatoe lovers as well. This is so so good!
Wendy
I don't have any venison right now, but I might have some tough beef roasts I could use. In the past when we've butchered deer, rather than having to get out the grinder for 1 deer I just portioned out all the tougher cuts and used them for cooking low and slow. We like it better than ground.
Pamela
hmm looks yummy! What would you substitue the sour cream with to make it dairy free?
[email protected]
I would you a dairy free yogurt like coconut or cashew.
Monty
A solid 4.5 stars. Loved this recipe though I chickened out and didn't add the 1/2 c. dried mushrooms (I had purchased porcinis), because I was getting ready to start it on high pressure and worried there wasn't enough fluid. I thought I was vindicated when the Instant Pot's "FOOD BURN" message came on briefly after starting the pressure cook. I freaked (had people waiting on dinner) and released pressure, removed lid and found there was plenty of fluid. The dinner (made with venison) turned out great; people loved it. I was a little disappointed in that it didn't thicken up as much as hoped with 1 c. sour cream, but I'll take the blame as I suspect that (in addition to enhanced flavor) the dried mushrooms are to thicken. It's a winner and I'll make again. Intense, delicious flavor. Served on mashed potatoes and people went nuts. I did forget fresh parsley, and that would have been a really nice finishing touch.