Deer Stew with Rice

My friend Susan gave me a bunch of venison (fancy term for deer meat) and it's a little cold out so a stew sounded fantastic. I've made beef stew before on here (recipe in October on this blog) and I'm using pretty much the same recipe but with a few twists. So if you want to make this recipe follow the october directions but use these as additions to those directions.

Random fact: did you know that when your making deer stew your actually braising it? weird right? If you make this you can impress your friends with that fact haha. and when your friends or family say "what, why or huh?" you can explain the following. Braising is cooking (meat, fish, or vegetables) by sautéeing in fat and then simmering slowly in very little liquid. Stewing is to undergo cooking by simmering or slow boiling. So while beef stew is a stew it is more specifically a braise because stewing tends to use a lot of liquid. warning: when you say this make sure you don't sound like a know it all haha!

Twists to previous stew recipe:
When first browning the deer meat I seasoned it with salt and pepper and also a little cumin for smokiness and a little red pepper flake for some kick. I used a teaspoon of cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper flakes.

The other difference was that I added a little wine to the braising liquid. Only add a maximum of a 1/2 cup because the wine can overpower the rest of the dish easily so be careful! For the liquid I used 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, 2-3 cups of beef broth, 1/2 cup of red wine, and a little water to make sure the deer was covered in the pan. It's important in this recipe that all the meat is covered with liquid or the piece(s) uncovered will not get tender!

To cook the rice for this dish: melt a pat of butter in a saucepan. Add a cup of rice and salt and toast for about a minute. Add 1 cup of water and 3/4 cup of stew liquid after adding potatoes and water to stew. Bring to a simmer and cover and cook about 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender and cooked.