As you mentioned "game," Sunday I made a moose stew. I had a two pound roast from a cow moose my neighbor killed in the Fall of 2011. (I'd put it in the freezer last year and it became covered with other frozen meat before I ran on to it a few days ago.)
I cut the roast into chunks approximately 1�" cubed. I heated my cast iron pot to hot, put in a small amount of good olive oil and then seared the moose pieces in two batches.
I then added one can of Swanson's beef broth, four cups of water, three cloves of chopped garlic, covered it and let this concoction simmer at very low for about three hours.
Then I added a large onion chopped, a couple of large carrots chopped, two Idaho russet potatoes chopped into pieces about the size of the meat, one can of chopped tomatoes, a half cup of frozen green peas, some fresh pepper, and three bay leaves.
Added a bit more water, and let it simmer for another two hours. We had it for dinner last night, and tonight, and the meat was literally cut-it-with-a-fork tender. A great stew.
I've had the same results making both elk and beef stew using this same method and recipe.
I never salt until the stew is almost ready for the table as there is plenty of salt in beef broth and canned tomatoes. Salt is mighty easy to add later to taste: it's mighty hard to take out if you've added too much.
Hope this helps.
L.W.
