Years ago our oldest son was very excited to cook up “Daddy’s bear.” Although he can be a picky eater, he is usually willing to try any type of wild game. Not being a fan of anything in a creamy sauce, we were pleasantly surprised when Braxton went for his third serving. Interestingly, it was a big old boar, taken in the spring.
This recipe can be really easy using prepared ingredients or you can step it up and make it from scratch. It’s really good from scratch but hey, I am a realist and sometimes opening a can makes perfect sense!
SPRING BEAR STROGANOFF
- 2 pound bear roast (any venison can be used)
- 1 1-ounce packet onion soup mix (or see homemade version below)
- 1 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup (or see homemade version below)
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 2 4-ounce cans sliced mushrooms (or 1 cup fresh, sauteed in butter)
- 1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
Cut roast into 4-6 large chunks. Lay in the bottom of a crock pot or slow cooker. Sprinkle onion soup mix evenly over meat. Cover meat with cream of mushroom soup. Cover and cook on high heat 3 hours or until meat is very tender. Cut meat into bite-sized chunks, turn crock pot to low. Add ketchup, mustard and sliced mushrooms mixing carefully. Cook an additional 30-60 minutes. Before serving, add sour cream and warm. Serve over wide egg noodles and garnish with parsley.
Homemade Onion Soup Mix
- 1/3 cup dried minced onion
- 3 crushed beef bouillon cubes
- 2 teaspoons granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
In a small bowl, mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined.
Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, pureed
- 3 cups mushrooms, chopped
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup heavy cream or 1/2&1/2
- Salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions and garlic in butter over medium heat 10-15 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute an additional 10 minutes. Sprinkle flour over mushroom and onion mixture and saute 1-2 minutes. Add beef broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and add cream. Simmer on low 5-10 minutes or until desired thickness. Salt and pepper to taste.
My first bear taken spring 2010 in British Columbia.
