Venison Stir Fry With Black Bean Sauce

I enjoy a stir fry.  It’s a great way to use up leftover veggies and bits of meat and it makes a quick, easy meal.

I’ve never made one with venison before but, faced with a single venison steak packaged separate from the rest of our meat, I thought I’d give it a try.   There wasn’t enough meat in the package to make a more traditional steak dinner for the two of us and I knew the veggies in the stir fry would stretch it enough to make a good meal.  I was kind of worried, though, that it wouldn’t be tender enough. (Deer get a lot more exercise than what the average cow does.)

In order to ensure that the meat was as tender as possible, I decided to slice it while it was still half frozen.  Meat is easier to slice when it’s a little more firm, so cutting it while it’s still partly frozen yielded the thinnest possible slices. 

It proved to be a good strategy.  The meat was tender and flavourful and the garlic black bean sauce complimented it nicely.

To make Venison Stir Fry with Black Bean Sauce, you’ll need:

• 1 Tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 thinly sliced venison steak (about 1/2 pound)
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1-1/2 cup sliced carrot
• 3/4 cup sliced bell pepper (I used frozen)
• 2 cups beef stock (I used stock from a box)
• 1 heaping Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 heaping teaspoon of garlic bean sauce paste
• 2 cups leftover steamed broccoli

Heat the oils very hot and then add the venison and onion to the pan.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the venison is cooked through and has taken on some colour.  

(Sorry about the photo quality.  Steam from the pot fogged my camera lens.)

Add in the carrot and bell pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for a minute more. 

Add in 1-1/2 cups of the beef stock and bring to a boil.  Continue to cook, boiling hard, until the vegetables are tender crisp and some of the stock has evaporated.

While the vegetables are boiling, mix together the remaining stock, the cornstarch, and the garlic bean sauce paste, stirring until the cornstarch is dissolved. 

Add the cornstarch mixture and the broccoli to the ingredients in the pan.  Continue to stir until the sauce is thickened and the broccoli is heated through.

Serve immediately, over rice or noodles.