Casseroles #2 Wild Rice and Venison Casserole

Finding and getting good recipes for game meat can be a challenge, let's face it, it's not as if Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray are using venison and elk on their shows. What I have found in cooking with these meats over the years is that most recipes that call for beef can be substituted with deer and elk with just a few minor changes. If the recipe you are using calls for ground beef just trade straight across the same amount of ground venison or elk and continue on with the recipe. For using elk or venison roasts in a crock pot it will cook best if the roast is not completely thawed all the way through and is marinated for a few hours before put in the crock to cook. Doing these two steps helps to keep the meat tender and moist. If you are wanting venison or elk steaks it is key to marinate them overnight or at the very least that day. As for cooking the steak that is done just like a beef steak, but they taste the best when they are cooked only to a medium doneness at the most as past that it tends to dry out the meat. So there is my advice and knowledge of cooking with venison and elk, now on to the recipe.


I use a cast iron dutch oven in this recipe so that everything is cooked in one pot from stove top to oven. If you do not have cast iron just use a skillet on the stove top and a casserole dish in the oven.

Wild Rice and Venison Casserole

1 lb ground venison or elk
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice (or long grain and wild rice blend)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup water
1 chopped onion
3 tablespoons soy sauce

1) Brown venison in a dutch oven. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
2) Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, uncover and cook another 30 minutes.

Serve with your families favorite veggies, some bread and you are ready to go.

Beef and Mushroom Casserole

Okay here is the next recipe in a series I'm starting on cooking with beef, elk and deer. Just to be clear I have nothing against pork, chicken, lamb, or seafood. It is just this time of year I seem to focus on beef, elk and deer because that is what is fresh to the freezer but have no fear I will post recipes that include other meats as winter melts into spring.

If you look back at the other recipes I have posted here you will see that I'm not one for complex ingredients or lots of time in the kitchen. I much prefer a fix it and forget approach to cooking. There are nights that is probably the only reason why dinner got cooked and the kids were eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! This recipe is no different, all in one pot and ready to go at the end of about 30 minutes.


Beef and Mushroom Casserole

1 lb ground beef (this works just as well with ground elk, deer or even turkey)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 1/2 cups mushrooms sliced
6oz can of tomato paste
1 1/2 cups long grain rice (if you are even more pressed for time you can us minute rice and cut out about 20 minutes)
3 cups water (check the rice package if you are using instant rice for correct amount of water for the rice)
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese ( I like extra sharp for this recipe)

1) Brown the ground meat and the onion. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.
2) Stir in the tomato paste until completely mixed with the meat, onion and mushroom mixture. Add the rice and the water. Bring to a boil then lower the heat , cover and let simmer until the rice has absorbed the water and is tender. For long grain rice this will be about 20 minutes or 5 minutes for instant.
3) Top with cheese, let melt and serve.

I fix a dark multi-grain bread with this hearty casserole and steam fresh spinach for a side dish, but your families favorite veggie will work just as well. I will post the recipe for the bread in the next few days.

And as always enjoy with family and friends.

Some new Recipes

Well the freezer in our house went from sadly empty to full this past weekend as we finished up processing our steer. Every year we keep back one steer and then in the late fall early winter normally we butcher and process him to feed our family the next year. Well this year the weather was not cold enough for long enough and we were later than normal getting the process started so our freezer was empty other than our elk and deer meat waiting to be made into jerky come spring. This ended up being a good thing since I needed to defrost the freezer since it is an old one and did not come with a defrost setting.
In honor of our full freezer of meat I thought I would share some of my favorite beef, elk and deer recipes over the next few blogs. I also thought if any of you are wanting ideas or suggestions for a particular cut of meat or type of meat let me know in the comments section and I will put up a post answering your questions or requests for recipes.
For the first recipe I'm picking one of my favorites for this time of year Elk Stew. Now this can work for deer or beef but if you need a recipe for elk and not sure what to do with the meat this is great one for you to start out with.

This picture was taken after the pot got raided by everyone. It does make much more than just that little bit

Elk Stew

2-3 lb rump roast of elk cut into bite size pieces
3 carrots sliced
2 medium potatoes cut into pieces
2 stalks of celery chopped
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 small parsnips cut into pieces
1 can chopped tomatoes undrained
2 bay leaves
salt, pepper, and your choice of spices to taste
2 cups beef broth
Enough water to cook the stew and have broth in the end

1) Cut up the meat into bite sized pieces and brown them in a Dutch oven. Add the onion and garlic and cook until clear and soft. Add celery and carrots cook for about 3-5 minutes.
2) Add broth, canned tomatoes, potatoes, parsnips, salt, pepper and your spices. You can add more water if needed at this time or through out the cooking process. Once the water comes to a boil turn the heat down to low and just let this slow cook until the meat is tender and the potatoes and parsnips are soft.
3) Sit back with a cup of coffee and a good book and wait until the stew is done. I have found that it takes around 3 hours to cook on a low slow flame.

Serve with a good piece of bread and good company!

Hope your family enjoys this dinner as much as we do.