Instant Pot Venison Stock
You will soon see many of my recipes will call for venison stock. No, I do not expect you to search the ends of the internet for a venison stock purveyor or pay $20 a quart for some farm-raised venison stock. This is simply because I'm cheap and resourceful. Maybe more on the cheap side. But making venison stock at home is so easy and it uses something you already have or would otherwise throw away. And it's YOUR stock, you can add or remove whatever you want. Some people like soy or ginger in their stocks for use in pho while others prefer a more basic stock to be flavored however they like at time of cooking. The choice is yours. The store-bought stock also lacks all the collagen you get from homemade stock, which is the good stuff that provides a silkiness to dishes that cannot be replicated.
But what to do with all this stock once it is made?
You have three options -
- Use it.
- Freeze it.
- Pressure can it.
90% of all stock I make gets pressure canned for use at a later date. This also frees up freezer space which is limited at the end of a productive deer season.
There are a number of great YouTube videos on pressure canning stock so I would recommend watching a couple to get the idea of it. But very simply...
- Pour stock into jars, leaving 1" of headspace
- Clean rim with vinegar
- Put lid and band on finger tight
- Place in a preheated pressure canner with enough water to cover the bottom 2" of the jars.
- Put lid on, can at the recommended pressure for your elevation, mine is 11 pounds for 25 minutes for quart-size jars.
- Allow to cool naturally.
One deer could provide you with a year's worth of stock with just a little bit of sweat equity. At $3 a quart for cheap beef broth you will quickly pay for your deer license in stock alone.
- 2-3 Deer Bones
- 2 stalks celery (halved)
- 2 onion (quartered)
- 1 teaspoon juniper berries
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 4 garlic cloves (whole)
- Roast your bones
- If your bones are too large to fit in the Instant Pot, cut them in half with a bone saw.
- Coat the bones in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Place in an air fryer or on a baking sheet in the oven at 400° and roast until browned.
- Pressure Cook
- Add bones and all other ingredients to the Instant Pot.
- Fill with water about 1" over all the ingredients.
- Set Instant Pot to Manual, High Pressure, 120 minutes.
- Allow to naturally release. This can take over an hour depending on the amount of water.
If you manually release the pressure the stock will boil and turn your stock cloudy and dull. We're aiming for a clear, amber colored stock. - Strain
Once your stock has cooled strain it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a container that will fit in your refrigerator. Allow to cool overnight.
The next day all the fats should have solidified at the top of your stock. Carefully remove the fat layer with either a slotted spoon or strain through a fine mesh strainer.
Your stock is now ready to be used, frozen, or pressure-canned!
