Cousin Shawn's Deer Stew

In 2006, we went to Michigan to spend Thanksgiving with the Lovelace's which include Toby's Aunt Vicki, Uncle Donnie, Aunt Sue, Uncle Fred, Cousins, Molly, Jennifer, Shawn (and their spouses & children) and Julie & Stephen (and spouse & children).   Now apparently when you get up into Michigan, deer meat is the new beef, because those folks eat deer meat like we eat beef here.  Which is all fine & dandy, except I don't like deer meat.  

We went to Thanksgiving dinner which had all the usual trimmings, turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, etc, but (I guess because it was Michigan) there had to be some venison (which is what they all refer to deer meat as) on the table.  So Cousin Shawn packed in his deer stew & Cousin Stephen packed in his deer roast.  I was skeptical, but being someone who LOVES food, I had to at least try some.  


Oh man, both dishes were some of the most fantastic tasting stuff to ever touch my lips!  The deer...erh, I mean venison was so tender & flavorful I couldn't believe it was actually deer!  It took me a couple years to get around to asking Shawn for his recipe, but I finally got it.  He sent it to me with a note that said he seldom worked from a recipe so this was his best guess at what he did that day.  I've yet to find out how Stephen fixed his roast so that's on the "to do" list for now. 

Cousin Shawn's Deer Stew

"If you're in a hurry use a pressure cooker, otherwise I like to use a crock pot. Brown your meat with about a teaspoon of crushed or minced garlic (I use the stuff from a jar) and some Lawrey's seasoning salt. Place it in the crock pot with a can of beef broth and fill the rest (up to about 2/3) with water. Slow cook the meat for a few hours and then add your potatoes, onion, celery, carrots, peas, or whatever you like to use. If you like some of your veggies firmer( like carrots) don't add them right away. About an hour or so before eating, I add one large can of cream of mushroom soup and salt and pepper to taste. Make it as thick as you like by adding flour mixed with warm water. Most people like this stew even if they say they don't like cream of mushroom soup."