Bone Broth to Venison Minestrone

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Bone broth is quite trendy now as the highly nutritious food that it always has been (think chicken soup for a cold).  Making broth from bones provides collagen, protein, and loads of minerals to help aching joints and boost the immune system.  A perfect food for this snowy, cold winter!

I pulled out a venison shoulder roast and some odd steak cuts from a rather fat doe to make a savory Moroccan stew (recipe coming soon).  I was cooking the stew for non-venison eaters, so I was careful to only use the lean meat, leaving lots of connective tissue, fat and bone behind. Perfect remnants for bone broth soup!

Bone Broth

Ingredients:

~2 lbs of venison bones with some meat still intact (this can be raw from trimming or you can used bones that are left over from a roast, such as a neck or shoulder roast)
1 small onion, cut in chunks
2 cloves garlic, smashed
about 8 cups of cold water

 

Directions:

Place bones (for more flavor, roast the bones in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit), along with the onion, garlic, and water in a stock pan or you can use a slow cooker.  Bring to a simmer, just below the boiling point, cover and for at least 3 hours (4-6 if using a slow cooker).  The longer you cook it the deeper the meat flavor.  Strain the broth and remove any edible meat pieces from the bones to use in the following soup recipe.  I like to then refrigerator the stock overnight, so that I can visibly remove the fat that has hardened at the top.  If you are planning to drink the broth, you can salt and pepper it to taste.

Venison Minestrone Soup

6-8 cups of venison bone broth (recipe above)

~1 cup of venison meat chunks left from making the broth (optional)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrot

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp. dry red wine

1 small can (8 oz) tomato sauce

2 cups chopped spinach or kale (fresh or frozen)

1 can (15 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed

1 Tbsp Italian herbs, including basil

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)

Directions:

Put the olive oil in a stock pot along with the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic.  Place over medium heat and lightly saute the vegetables for about 3 minutes (don’t let the garlic turn brown!).  Place remaining ingredients in the stock pan and cook at a simmer for an hour or so.   This can also be made in slow cooker by putting all the ingredient in and cooking on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Makes about 8 bowls.

venison minestone soup

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