Venison Stew with Paprika, Bacon, White Beans & Dumplings
This hearty venison or beef stew, rich with paprika, streaky bacon and creamy white beans, is the kind of slow‑cooker meal that makes cold, wet nights feel a bit more bearable. Everything goes into the crock pot and quietly does its thing while you get on with your day, and by dinnertime you’ve got a deep, flavor‑packed stew ready to ladle into bowls.
The paprika in this stew brings a gentle Hungarian‑goulash warmth, the Italian vermouth adds soft aromatics, the bacon boosts the overall savoriness, and the canned beans soak up all those flavours while adding an economical hit of protein. Top it with soft, pillowy dumplings and it becomes the sort of winter dish that feels like a small reward for enduring the cold, wet weather.
Ingredients:
Stew
Approximately 500g cubed red meat
Approximately 60g streaky bacon, finely sliced
½ cup plain flour + a pinch of salt
2 tbsp olive oil to fry
1/4 -1/3rd cup Vermouth
1 cup vegetable stock
1 beef OXO cube (or 1 tsp beef bouillon or instant beef stock powder)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 × 425g can white butter beans or cannellini beans, drained (reserve the liquid)
1 × 425g can peeled diced plain tomatoes (cheapest)
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 stick celery, thinly sliced
2 tsp extra olive oil
Dumplings
1½ cups plain flour
1/8 tsp table salt
1 tsp baking powder
50g butter, soft (not melted)
Milk, to mix
Optional: grated cheese or herbs or spices of your choice
Method:
For the stew
Dredge the meat: Toss the cubed meat in the seasoned flour.
Brown: Heat a frypan over high heat with a generous slosh of olive oil. Add the bacon and floured meat, leaving them undisturbed for a few minutes so they brown properly before turning. Transfer everything to the slow cooker.
Deglaze: With the pan still warm (heat off), pour in the canned tomatoes and vermouth. Scrape off all the browned bits - that’s where the flavor is.
Combine: Add the carrots, beans, onion, celery, and 1/2 the reserved bean liquid. Tip everything into the slow cooker with the meat. Add another good slosh of olive oil, plus sea salt and cracked black pepper.
Cook: Set to low for 5–6 hours.
For the dumplings
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, adding any herbs or spices you like.
Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles soft crumbs.
Use a table knife to mix in enough milk to form a soft dough.
Roll out and cut into rounds or squares.
Add the dumplings to the top of the stew, then transfer the crock‑pot ceramic insert (or an oven‑safe dish) to the oven and bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes until the dumplings are puffed and lightly golden.
Serve in warm bowls.
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