Parker’s Buffalo Stew

 

Parker’s Buffalo Stew
Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 pounds buffalo stew meat
  • 1 (750-ml bottle) good red wine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Cooking oil
  • 2 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into chunks
  • 1 pound celery, cut into bite sized chunks
  • 1/2 pound white mushrooms, cut in half
  • 1 pound small potatoes, halved or quartered
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
  • 2 cups chicken or turkey stock
  • 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 can (15-25 ounces) chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Combine the flour, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper. In batches, dredge the meat in the flour mixture and then shake off the excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot and brown half the meat over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Place the stew meat in a large oven-proof Dutch oven and continue to brown the remaining meat, adding oil as necessary. (Buffalo is very lean, you may need more oil.) Add the bottle of wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the turkey or chicken stock, rosemary, can of tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper. Return all meat back into the pot. Bring to a simmer, place the lid on and put into the oven for 45 minutes.
  2. After about 30 minutes of meat cooking time, heat another 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan and add the onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. After the meat has cooked for 45 minutes, pull the Dutch oven out of the oven and place all the vegetables in the Dutch oven over the stew meat. Stir everything together, and make sure that there is enough liquid to cover. Cover the pot and place it back into the oven to bake it for about 2 more hours, until the meat and vegetables are all tender, stirring once during cooking. During cooking, check to see if the stew is boiling rather than simmering, and if necessary lower the heat to 250 or 275 degrees F.
  3. Before serving, stir in the frozen peas, season to taste, and serve hot.