Fireside Venison Stew

Make this stew in a Dutch oven over an open fire for a hearty meal after a long day in the woods. The sight of venison and veggies bubbling away over a pit you dug—what could be finer?

Start by digging a pit about 2 feet square. You can use hardwood charcoal, briquettes or a wood fire to get things going. Let the fire burn to coals, and then pull them out alongside the pit. After all the ingredients get in the pot, make a bed of coals alongside the fire pit and suspend the Dutch oven above them. You can use stones to support the pot or fashion stout branches through the wire handle. Shovel coals over the lid for nice, even cooking. Keep your tools handy for carefully lifting off the lid to check on things—you don’t want ashes creeping into the mix.

2 sticks butter
3 to 4 lb venison cubed
2 cups flour
6 cups milk
3 medium onions quartered
8 carrots chopped
1 bulb garlic clove peeled and chopped
4 medium red potatoes chopped
4 cups green beans
1/2 cabbage coarsely chopped
8 bay leaves
2 tbs black pepper
3 tbs salt

Melt butter in a large pot. Dredge venison in flour and place in pot to brown. Once browned, remove and set aside. Retain cracklings in pot. There should be 8 to 10 tablespoons of melted butter in the pot. If not, add as needed. Add 8 to 12 tablespoons of flour and cook until brown. Continually whisking, add milk to desired consistency. Add to the gravy mixture the onions, carrots, garlic, potatoes, green beans, cabbage and bay leaves. Add salt and pepper and cook for 15 minutes. Add cooked venison and simmer over the coals two more minutes. Keep an eye on things and stir the stew frequently. Cooking over live coals is an art, and experience will teach you more than we can.