Estofado

Wild About Game, p. 152

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon coarse salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ pounds venison or beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, cut into eighths

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small red or green jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

1 small piece bay leaf (optional)

1 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 cup game stock or beef broth

½ cup pitted ripe black olives

I was going to make a joke about this not sounding appetizing, but actually I'd eat a dish called "Deer Chunks." Wouldn't you?

Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together in a shallow dish. Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion, garlic, and chile and saute over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Add the meat and brown in the hot oil. Add the bay leaf, if using, red wine, red wine vinegar, and stock.

Using a nice cab from Firehouse in Rapid City.

Stir and cover. Simmer until the meat is tender, 2 ½ to 3 hours. Stir in the olives just before serving and discard the bay leaf.

See, this is where I got disappointed; almost all the liquid boils away and it's not really a stew consistency anymore. 

The cookbook suggested serving it over polenta. We used rice instead and it was still tasty.

My Rating: 3/5 "The overall flavor of this was definitely tasty. I couldn't get over how dry it came out, though. In the end a bunch of it was burned to the bottom of the pan (probably my fault for not stirring periodically). What was left was just pieces of savory meat and olives sitting on top of the rice. I wanted something with more moisture to it, you know? That said, venison is delicious and these spices are a nice way to complement it."