Guatemalan Venison in Chile Sauce

Venado en recado is a traditional game stew from Cobán, Alta Verapaz, made with venison in a thick sauce of chiles, tomato, and spices.

It’s an uncommon dish outside its region of origin, valued for the distinctive flavor of game meat combined with a traditional Guatemalan recado.

Guatemalan Venison in Chile Sauce

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• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings
• Category: Main Course
• Cuisine: Guatemalan

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 kg of venison, in pieces (about 2.2 lb)
• 3 of guaque chiles, toasted and soaked
• 2 of pasilla chiles, toasted and soaked
• 4 of tomatoes, roasted
• 1 of onion, roasted
• 3 cloves of garlic, roasted
• 1/4 cup of corn masa (to thicken)
• 1 sprig of hoja santa (optional)
• to taste of salt

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Instructions

1. Marinate the meat, if possible, marinating the venison a few hours before cooking helps soften its flavor.
2. Cook the meat, boil the venison in salted water until tender, reserving the broth.
3. Prepare the chiles, lightly toast the guaque and pasilla chiles and soak them in hot water until softened.
4. Blend the sauce, blend the soaked chiles, roasted tomatoes, onion, and garlic with a little broth until you get a smooth sauce.
5. Thicken, dissolve the corn masa in cold water and add it to the sauce.
6. Cook the stew, pour the sauce into the pot with the meat and broth, and cook over medium heat, stirring, until it thickens.
7. Add aromatics, add the hoja santa toward the end of cooking, if using.
8. Adjust seasoning, correct the salt to taste.
9. Serve, serve hot, with white rice and tortillas.

Tips for getting it right

• Marinating the venison before cooking helps soften its characteristic wild flavor.
• Venison is usually lean, so it’s important not to overcook it or it will turn dry.
• This dish is uncommon outside Alta Verapaz, so venison may be hard to find depending on the region.
• The recado of chiles, tomato, and spices is a technique shared with other game stews from the region.

Traditional variations

• It’s a traditional dish of the Cobán region, Alta Verapaz, tied to local game hunting.
• It can be substituted with another lean meat if venison isn’t available, though the flavor will change.

How to serve

Venado en recado is served hot, in a deep bowl, with white rice and corn tortillas.

It’s an uncommon dish from Alta Verapaz’s traditional game cooking.

Recommended sides

• White rice
• Corn tortillas

Did you know?

Venado en recado is part of the game cooking tradition of the Cobán region, in Alta Verapaz.

It’s a little-documented dish outside its region of origin, reflecting Guatemala’s very localized culinary traditions.