Buffalo Cranberry Stew
2 tbsp Canola oil
2 lb bison stew meat, cut in one inch cubes or smaller
2.5 cups water (plus top up water)
1 tsp salt¼ tsp black pepper coarsely ground
1 medium size onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic minced1 cup dry red wine or 1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp paprika
3 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
8 carrots, scraped, split and cut in thirds
4 potatoes (4 cups in volume peeled and cut into large cubes)
1 ¾ cup cranberries (fresh or frozen -- not DRIED)
3 stalks celery, split and cut in short strips
4 tbsp maple syrup or 2.5 tbsp brown sugar (knowing us, we used both)
Put canola oil in a 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven. Over medium high heat brown bison cubes.
Once bison cubes are browned, add 2.5 cups water, salt and pepper to Dutch over. Bring contents to a boil, simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Add onion, garlic, wine or vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, cloves and bay leaves to Dutch over. Cover and continue to simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so.
Add carrots, potatoes, cranberries and celery. Top-up casserole dish with additional water to cover contents (another 1.5 cups or so). Add maple syrup or brown sugar, especially if vinegar is used. Bring to a boil (can't read this part) simmer, Cover and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Adjust seasonings (pepper and Worcestershire sauce may be required). Knowing our chef, he added more wine. ;-)
Using a separate bowl, make thickener by gradually stirring 1 cup water into ½ cup rye or whole wheat flour. (we've never done this.
Keep in mind, we added this recipe times 20 so things were exactly like this recipe calls for. We used less carrots and I think less celery. I'm not sure about that. We also made it two days in advance and kept it in a cooler. On Friday of the event, we had it simmering for hours before we served it. One thing to remember (that I learned)…if you decide to freeze some and warm it up in the crock pot, watch it because if the crock pot is hot - it will burn. Still tastes great even after being in the freezer for weeks.
