Bear Stew

Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 4 lbs bear meat
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons margarine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup beef broth
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 lbs red potatoes, diced
• 1 lb fresh mushrooms
• 5 carrots, sliced
• 2 turnips, cubed

Recipe

• 1 1. in a large mixing bowl combine flour, oregano, salt and pepper. place bear meat in the bowl a little at a time and coat well.
• 2 2. heat oil and butter in a large skillet. fry the bear meat until browned. let drain on paper towels.
• 3 3. fill a large dutch oven with 2 to 3 quarts water. add bear meat, onions, beef broth, bay leaves, potatoes, mushrooms carrots and turnips. cook on medium-high heat for 2 to 3 hours. add more water as needed.
• 4 my note: i have been making this receipe for over 55 years -- when i was first introduced to bear meat! it is fantastic! i have also altered the water ingrediant and used a can of cream of mushroom so that there is some "gravy" to pour all over. on occassion, i have seen some people wrinkle their nose at the thought of eating bear meat but when i serve this, they change their minds! many times, they can't even tell the difference! a stomach doesn't care as long as it's good and this is one of the best. add/subtract you favorite veggies and enjoy!
• 5 i also added 3 stalks celery, sliced, and sometime a can of cream of mushroom soup.
• 6 or i added guinness beer to the slow cooker with out one quarts water.
• 7 i fried the meat in a pot, so when i added water, it would get all the brown bits stuck in the pan. since we were given this meat, not harvested by us, i was unsure how old it was and how it was prepared, so i added 1 t of vinegar to the water. this tenderizes the meat while cooking and does not leave a vinegary taste. also added the salt at the end.
• 8 if you didn't have any bear, but beef stew meat. and needed a recipe for turnips and this is very good. i also added some whole allspice and parsnip, as well as whole pepper kernels instead of ground. i'd only suggest to add the turnips and mushrooms about 1/2hr before the end as they got rather soft. otherwise it's very tasty, even my 15mo old enjoyed it!