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Photo by Holly A. Heyser
I’ve always had mixed feelings about St. Patrick’s Day. I mean, my family is indeed part Irish, but we’re mostly Scots, and have historically been Protestant, to boot, meaning we were more orange than green. So while I enjoy a Gaelic celebration more than most (I even have my name on a brass plaque in a Long Island Irish bar for drinking 18 pints of Guinness at one sitting), I tend to gravitate towards my Scottish roots around this time, whether it’s herring fried in oats, or this venison soup.
I’ve based this recipe off the tradtional Scotch broth, which is a simple lamb and barley soup with carrots, turnips and other wintry things. Only I am using venison here instead of lamb. Venison is still widely eaten in the United Kingdom, and Scotland is home to one of the largest remaining herds of red deer (they’re like our elk) left in Europe. So it seemed appropriate.
And my special ingredient? Nettles. Blanched and chopped, nettles — a wild vegetable adored by both Irish and Scots cooks — add a vivid spring green to the soup. If you can’t get nettles, use spinach.
There is one vital key to my version of this soup: Never, ever let this soup boil. If you do, the soup will still be edible, but you will wonder what all the fuss is about. Keeping the venison cooking at below a simmer — about 170 degrees — breaks down the connective tissue of the meat but keeps the venison tender and pink. If the soup boils, the meat will tighten up and turn gray.
The recipe keeps well in the fridge for up to a week, although the barley will swell over time. It is best eaten the day after it is made.
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SCOTTISH VENISON SOUP
If you cannot find venison, lamb is traditional. Beef, or any other red meat, will work just as well.
Serves 6-8.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours, 35 minutes
- 2 pounds venison or lamb stew meat
- 1 quart venison broth or beef broth
- 2 quarts water
- Salt
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 2-3 turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
- 5-6 small carrots, peeled and trimmed
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 cup barley
- 1 cup blanched and chopped nettles or spinach
- Black pepper to taste
Pour the water and broth into a large pot and add the venison chunks. Bring this to a bare simmer, just to bubbling. You will notice lots of scum collecting on the surface of the soup. Skim it as best you can. I let the venison gently simmer for 20 minutes, then fish out the venison pieces and put them in a bowl. I then pour the broth through a paper towel set in a sieve over another pot or large bowl. This strains out all the scum. If you skip this step your soup will be cloudy, but still perfectly edible. I just like clear soup.
Add salt to the broth, and return it and the venison to the heat — only this time do not let it even simmer. Cover the pot and set it on low heat. You are shooting for about 160-175 degrees. Cook the meat this way until tender, which will take 2-3 hours for an old deer, or 90 minutes for lamb.
Add all the vegetables and the barley, cover and cook for another hour or so, or until the barley is tender.
Stir in the chopped nettles and add some black pepper, and just heat this through, about 5 minutes. Serve at once with a dark ale or red wine.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
More Venison Recipes
More Nettle and Other Wild Greens Recipes
Well, I cling proudly to my Irish heritage. !00% Irish. Second generation. But this soup looks dang good so I must give it a try. And I sit in awe of someone who could down 18 pints of the best beer in the world in one sitting. I might have pulled that off in my younger days, but today I could only do if a “sitting” were defined as an appropriate number of days. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This recipe has come at the perfect time as I am visiting the Welsh Venison centre tomorrow. I will be making this very soon.
Single malt before or after the soup?
Michael: That was a looong time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
Ian: “Welsh Venison Centre?” Wow. Not sure what to make of that.
Fishguy: After, of course!
Hoot-man!
If I wasn’t forced to be so stingy with my venison (only one deer this year), I’d be making more of this! Wonder how it’d be with bear…or coyote (dog tastes like mutton).
so, here’s the thing (and maybe I’m preaching to the choir here) but why is it venison is so hard to find in the states? There are deer literally everywhere now that we’ve seen off almost all the apex predators, and yet the butcher will roll his eyes when I ask him if he can get me some. Seriously. He just sold me some veal brains, farm raised alligator and emu steaks, but not venison? Great tip about only letting the broth simmer, and love me some nettles. I’ve seen this made with water cress too, by my Great-Grandma Robertson once upon a time, but the two tend to grow together at this time of year along river banks or other damp areas in the spring. Great work, Hank!
Being Scots-Irish-English myself, and tending to feel more Scots than anything else, I found it refreshing to see you celebrating your Scots ancestry so close to St. Patrick’s Day. Do I detect an uprising? Lucky me to have a deer hunting son who will gift me with venison when asked. Great recipe, now saved for just such an occasion. And it’s green!
Cork: I am sure it would go great with bear. Um, not so sure about coyote. Eating dogs and cats is where I draw the line….
Jonny: Truly wild venison is illegal to sell in the US because wild game “belongs” to the American people, not whomever owns the land. It is the opposite in Europe, so that’s why they can sell game there. That said, you can buy quality venison from places like D’Artagnan or Broken Arrow Ranch. I like the watercress idea, too!
Christine: Nope, no uprising. The Troubles are behind us, thankfully.
I love venison, and this soup looks so delicious and unique!
Not a drop of Scot or Irish in me, but I love any reason to celebrate and make food
) I cook a lot of venison so I’m eager to try this recipe and I promise, no boiling.
Your soup looks wonderful and I am going to try making it with caribou, which I have plenty on hand. Do you think kale would make a good substitute for nettle? Can nettle be cultivated or is it only found in the wild?
Our supply of venison is all ground…would it still be worth it?
Probably not as tasty, but I have 70 lbs of ground venison and am looking for new and inventive ways to use it.
Dawna: Kale would be a fine substitute. Just chope it fine before it goes into the soup. And I am sure nettle can be cultivated. It’s a weed.
Erica: If you want to make this with ground venison, you will not really get the same texture, but if you make little venison meatballs – 1 lb venison, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, some herbs – and float them in the soup, it will be very, very good. Be sure to make the meatballs bite-sized, though.
Meatballs! Of course! Can’t wait to try it. I have everything on hand already. Thanks!
Nice to see another proud Scott around. Living in New Jersey means we’re in short supply.
Im Scottish and Native American and i must say im looking forward to trying this recipe. It looks amazing but I was wondering… I have about 4 lbs of wild antelope meat and I’m really not sure if it will work as well as deer meat. I know theyre the same family but I’m worried that the antelope will taste too gamey. I just really need to use it. Any tips or ideas?
Leitch: Antelope should work just fine. I’ve often substituted one for the other in recipes. They do taste a little different, but not so much that one will ruin a dish designed for the other.
Any reason you don’t start this out by first browning the venison? Or sweating the vegetables?
Pcplex: Yes, if you read the headnotes of the recipe you will see why I don’t brown the meat. This method makes the venison A LOT more tender. As for the veg, you can sweat them if you’d like.
Looked to the comments to see how this soup has turned out for others. Nothing said about anyone actually making the soup. Has anyone tried it?