Slow Cooker Elk Stew
With just a handful of ingredients and a little patience, my stew recipe will make you happy from the inside-out. A combination of cubed and seared elk meat - chopped onions, celery, root vegetables and fresh herbs are the base of the dish.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 lbs elk round roast, cut into 3/4" - 1" cubes
- 2 cups carrots, halved and chopped into 1"or 2" pieces
- 2 cups parsnips, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 cup celery, finely chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- Italian parsley, finely chopped (optional)
- grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil, chopped celery and onion. Fry until softened about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, garlic, thyme and bay leaves frying for an additional 5 minutes.Stir in the tomato paste and beef broth and pour into a crockpot. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet and fry the elk meat until browned - you may have to do this in batches. Add the meat and chopped parsnips to the crockpot and stir everything together. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
- In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the liquid in the crockpot and cook for 30 minutes until slightly thickened. Season to taste if needed.
- Serve over mashed potatoes and garnish with chopped parsley and a pinch of parmesan cheese.