Goulash w/ Venison, Red Wine, & Brick Cheese
This Venison Goulash consists of yellow onion, garlic, jumbo shells, broth, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, brick cheese, and parmesan. Although you can easily swap out any pasta shape of choice and cheese that you have on hand or that fits your own personal tastes and preferences. One of the fun things about cooking is making recipes your own! You can also substitute seafood, instead of red meat, or green lentils for a vegetarian options. I'd recommend French green lentils. Although any semi-hard legume would work in this dish.
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Large Cast Iron Skilet (optional, or sauté pan)
- Stovetop
Ingredients
Venison
- 1 lbs. jumbo shells (or pasta of choice)
- 1 lbs. venison ground
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- dash salt
- dash pepper
Goulash
- 32 oz. broth (I used vegetable broth, but beef broth would work, too)
- 2 lbs. tomatoes diced
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 c. red wine
- dash cumin
- dash coriander
- dash smoked paprika
- 2/3 lbs. brick cheese grated
- 1/3 lbs. parmesan grated
Instructions
Cook Pasta
- Add about 4 inches of water to a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Cook pasta according to the manufacturer's instructions. This typically entails boiling for about 8-12 minutes, or until barely al dente.
- Drain the pasta and set aside. You may want to stir it occasionally to keep the noodles from sticking together.
Cook Venison
- While the pasta is cooking, preheat a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Add the venison, diced yellow onion, minced garlic, and a dash of salt and pepper.
- Sauté until the venison begins to brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Goulash
- Add the broth, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, wine, cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika (everything except for the pasta and cheese) to the venison mixture. Simmer on medium-high heat for about 20 minutes, or until the broth has reduced to your liking.I like to cook mine down pretty far because I like to eat everything with a fork, rather than a spoon. But a lot of goulash will retain a decent amount of liquid, if you want to cook down less.If you started out using a cast iron skillet for the meat, it can be a good idea to switch to another type of large sauté pan or even a medium-sized pot. This will keep the broth from eating away at the seasoning on the cast iron. If yours is well-seasoned, it might last for this amount of time. Although just make sure to clean and reseason really well afterwards!
- Stir in the macaroni and sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
- Goulash is a great recipe to make ahead of time and reheat. Just put the goulash back on the stove, add a splash more broth, and simmer over medium-heat until warm.
- You can also make this into a single-pot meal. Use a large pot to cook the venison as instructed. Then, when you add in the broth and all of the other ingredients, add the pasta and cook the pasta while the broth simmers down.
- I tend to like the way that cast iron skillets sauté. Although you could also cook the venison separately in a cast iron skillet and then make the rest of the dish in a pot. This wouldn't be a one-pot meal. Although it is still pretty close to it!
- You can also substitute seafood, instead of red meat, or green lentils for a vegetarian options. I'd recommend French green lentils. Although any semi-hard legume would work in this dish.