Course
Main
Duration
2 hours
Serves
6-8
Borscht is a delicious soup made popular in Eastern European and North Asian cultures. The most identifiable version comes from Ukraine and is made with beet roots, giving the soup a deep red color. Borscht is generally served with beef or lamb, but the recipe easily translates to the use of wild game.
In many recipes, the meat is boiled to create the stock for the soup base. I use Danielle Prewett’s balsamic braised venison recipe as a guide to braise the roast. The result is nothing short of delicious. I enjoy using as many winter root veggies as I can, so I added parsnip, carrots, turnip, and potato to this meal. This soup will definitely warm you up on a cold winter day and is a great way to use tough cuts.
Ingredients
Braise
- 1 tbsp. beef tallow or oil
- 2-3 lbs. venison roast
- 2 cups game/beef stock
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
Borscht
- 2 tbsp. beef tallow or oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ large purple onion, minced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 medium turnip, peeled and diced
- 1 medium parsnip, peeled and diced
- 2 medium red beets, peeled and diced
- 1 large red potato, peeled and diced
- 4-6 cups game/beef stock
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 2 cups finely sliced cabbage
- 1 tbsp. minced dill
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
Garnish
- Sour cream
- Dill, minced
Also works with
Special equipment
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and bring the oven safe pot to medium-high heat on the stove top.
- Pat your roast dry and season with salt and ground black pepper.
- Melt 1 tbsp. of the beef tallow or oil in the pot and brown each side of roast.
- Pour in the 2 cups of venison stock. You do not want to completely submerge the meat in the liquid; about halfway is good. Add the bay leaf, garlic clove, and thyme. Cover the pot and place in the oven.
- Cook the meat for 1 hour then check for doneness. You should be able to pull the meat apart with forks. If the meat doesn’t shred, then baste with the liquid and cook in 15-minute increments while checking doneness.
- Once cooked, remove the meat from the stock and set aside. Strain the stock using a mesh strainer and reserve for later steps. You should have retained 1-2 cups of stock from the roast.
- Place the pot on the stovetop and bring to medium-high heat. Melt the tallow and allow it to heat up. Add the garlic, onion, carrot, turnip, parsnip, beets, and potato. Sweat the veggies for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Pour in the reserved stock to deglaze the pot. Add an additional 4 to 6 cups of game/beef stock. Bring the liquid to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 15-20 minutes or until all of your veggies are soft.
- Stir in the cabbage, dill, red wine vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Allow to simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
- While waiting, chop the roast against the grain and add to the soup. Turn off the heat and allow the soup to set for 5 minutes.
- Serve the soup garnished with sour cream and more minced dill.
Borscht is a delicious soup made popular in Eastern European and North Asian cultures. The most identifiable version comes from Ukraine and is made with beet roots, giving the soup a deep red color. Borscht is generally served with beef or lamb, but the recipe easily translates to the use of wild game.
In many recipes, the meat is boiled to create the stock for the soup base. I use Danielle Prewett’s balsamic braised venison recipe as a guide to braise the roast. The result is nothing short of delicious. I enjoy using as many winter root veggies as I can, so I added parsnip, carrots, turnip, and potato to this meal. This soup will definitely warm you up on a cold winter day and is a great way to use tough cuts.
Ingredients
Braise
- 1 tbsp. beef tallow or oil
- 2-3 lbs. venison roast
- 2 cups game/beef stock
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
Borscht
- 2 tbsp. beef tallow or oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ large purple onion, minced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 medium turnip, peeled and diced
- 1 medium parsnip, peeled and diced
- 2 medium red beets, peeled and diced
- 1 large red potato, peeled and diced
- 4-6 cups game/beef stock
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 2 cups finely sliced cabbage
- 1 tbsp. minced dill
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
Garnish
- Sour cream
- Dill, minced
Also works with
Special equipment
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and bring the oven safe pot to medium-high heat on the stove top.
- Pat your roast dry and season with salt and ground black pepper.
- Melt 1 tbsp. of the beef tallow or oil in the pot and brown each side of roast.
- Pour in the 2 cups of venison stock. You do not want to completely submerge the meat in the liquid; about halfway is good. Add the bay leaf, garlic clove, and thyme. Cover the pot and place in the oven.
- Cook the meat for 1 hour then check for doneness. You should be able to pull the meat apart with forks. If the meat doesn’t shred, then baste with the liquid and cook in 15-minute increments while checking doneness.
- Once cooked, remove the meat from the stock and set aside. Strain the stock using a mesh strainer and reserve for later steps. You should have retained 1-2 cups of stock from the roast.
- Place the pot on the stovetop and bring to medium-high heat. Melt the tallow and allow it to heat up. Add the garlic, onion, carrot, turnip, parsnip, beets, and potato. Sweat the veggies for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Pour in the reserved stock to deglaze the pot. Add an additional 4 to 6 cups of game/beef stock. Bring the liquid to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 15-20 minutes or until all of your veggies are soft.
- Stir in the cabbage, dill, red wine vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Allow to simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
- While waiting, chop the roast against the grain and add to the soup. Turn off the heat and allow the soup to set for 5 minutes.
- Serve the soup garnished with sour cream and more minced dill.