Venison Bone Broth

Venison bone broth made with deer bones, a delicious base for making soups, stews or sauces. Easy to make on the stovetop or in a crockpot.

Venison bone broth or stock might not be as common as the regular beef, chicken or turkey stock, but I do make it every chance I get.

I definitely don't hunt, my mother-in-law's husband does. He's not the kind of hunter who just goes out into woods to hunt, he is actually responsible for keeping a certain area healthy, tracking down animals that are hurt, or hunting animals that are messing around in the corn or wheat fields around here (mostly boars in this case).

The bones I used to make this venison stock came from a young male deer, who apparently was trespassing some other buck's territory.

Some of the meat was frozen, some was sold, but as it is almost always the case, nobody wanted the bones. Such a waste! So I took as many of them as I could fit into my freezer.

What is the difference between bone broth or stock?

The main one is that stock is made using bones without meat on them, while the bones used for broth still have some meat attached to them.

You can call this recipe either broth or stock because you can make it only with bones or you can leave some meat attached. I suppose it depends on where you get the bones. If you buy them at the butchers, chances are they are completely stripped of any meat, if you get them from a hunter (or hunt yourself), they will probably still have plenty of meat on.

However, the cooking procedure is the same, so you can use whatever bones you have and call this either a stock or a broth.

What do you need for venison stock?

Deer bones:

• As mentioned above, they can either be clean or still have some meat attached to them. The bones I use always have meat on.
• You can use pretty much any kind of bones you get: leg, shoulder, shanks, marrow bones, joints, and so on.
• The only thing about them is that they are usually pretty large, so you will have to cut them into smaller pieces using a hacksaw.

Vegetables:

• Regular stock making vegetables: carrots, onions, celeriac (or celery sticks), garlic, leeks, and some peppers.
• The peppers are optional, if I happen to have a green pepper in the fridge, then I throw it into the pot as well.
• I almost always add the greens of spring onions to any broth or stock I make. Whenever I buy a bunch, I clean it and remove about half of the greens, which are often not that nice. I freeze them and use them for stocks. If you don't have them, the leeks will be enough.
• If you have them, add some parsley or lovage stalks to the pot, they do add a lovely flavor.

Spices:

• Bay leaves, juniper berries, all-spice berries, cloves, black peppercorns, and salt.

How to make venison bone broth?

• Roast the bones. Clean the bones, rub them with oil, place them on a baking tray lined with foil and roast them in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes.
• Place the bones, all the roughly chopped vegetables, and the spices in a very large pot.
• Add just enough water to cover.
• Bring to a simmer, but don't let it come to a rolling boil.
• Turn the heat down to low and simmer, uncovered, for 6-8 hours.

How to make venison broth in a crockpot?

• Sometimes I feel I bought this pot just for making stocks or broths... it is so easy and the results are perfect.
• Place the roasted bones and all the other ingredients in the crockpot.
• Add just enough water to cover.
• Cook on low for 10-12 hours, I always leave it overnight.

How to store the broth?

• Remove the bones and all the large vegetables with tongs or a slotted spoon. Strain and remove the remaining solids.

• Strain again into a very large clean pot through a fine-meshed sieve. It is preferable to use a very large wide pot again, to ensure that the stock will cool as quickly as possible. Leave it uncovered to speed up the cooling process.
• Once cool place the covered pot in the fridge and leave it there for several hours, preferably overnight.
• It is a necessary step, this way you will be able to remove the fat from the stock. I always do that when I make venison or beef stock, it is just too much fat. So much of it is not only unhealthy, but it makes soups taste somehow soapy. I don't do it when I make chicken or turkey stock.
• Once the fat is solid you can easily remove it with a slotted spoon.

• Transfer the stock to large jars and refrigerate for up to one week.
• Or pack in freezer containers and freeze. It will keep for at least 6 months.

Tips

The longer you cook the broth, the better. It will be more concentrated, more marrow will be released from the bones and that will make it turn more gelatinous. That is a good thing. It will become liquid again once you reheat it.

Don't skip the roasting step. Roasting will brown and caramelize the bones and that means a lot of extra flavor.

Cook on very low heat when using the stove. This way you avoid emulsifying the fat and the stock will remain clearer. You don't have to worry about this when cooking the broth in the crock pot/slow cooker.

How to use the bone broth?

The way you would use any other broth or stock. I use it to make really hearty soups, especially autumn/winter soups. You can use it to make sauces, goulashes, or stews. Or risotto or other rice dishes.

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