OH fancied a venison stew for his birthday last weekend. I googled a few recipes but ended up (mostly) following River Cottage's Stewed Venison with Juniper & Bay
Serves 6
Cooking time 2-3 hours, plus overnight marinading
2 tbsp rapeseed or sunflower oil
200g bacon lardons
800g casserole venison
2 onions, finely sliced
2 large carrots, cut into big chunks
2 celery stalks, sliced
6–10 juniper berries, bashed slightly
2 bay leaves
A large sprig of thyme
At least 500ml beef, venison, chicken or game stock
150ml red wine
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g bacon lardons
800g casserole venison
2 onions, finely sliced
2 large carrots, cut into big chunks
2 celery stalks, sliced
6–10 juniper berries, bashed slightly
2 bay leaves
A large sprig of thyme
At least 500ml beef, venison, chicken or game stock
150ml red wine
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ideally, marinade the venison overnight in the red wine with the juniper, bay, and thyme in the fridge in a sealed container.
When ready to cook, fry the lardons in 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan. When browned, scoop out with a slotted soon and remove to a casserole dish.
Add the rest of the oil and gently fry the onions until soft but not brown. Add the carrot and celery and gently fry for about 5 minutes. Scoop out with a slotted spoon again, and add to the lardons in the casserole dish.
Pick the venison out of the red wine marinade, shaking off (but keeping) as much liquid as possible, and brown in the frying pan in batches. Once browned, transfer to the casserole dish.
When all the venison has been browned and in the casserole dish, pour the red wine marinade into the frying pan and stir around to heat up and deglaze the the pan. Pour into the casserole dish, then rinse the pan again with a little of the stock and pour this into the casserole dish too. Pour the remaining stock into the casserole dish. The liquid should just cover the meat, so add a little hot water too if there is not enough stock.
Bring to a simmer, cover with a well fitting lid, and cook over a very low heat for 2–3 hours, until the meat is completely tender. This can be cooked in the oven at 120°C for the same amount of time, or in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours.
When the meat is cooked, taste the stew and season. The sauce will be thin but well flavoured; if you prefer a thicker sauce, you can either strain the liquid off the meat and boil to reduce and thicken it, then return it to the pan, or add 2 tbsp cornflower mixed to a cream like consistency and stirred into the simmering stew.
Serve with greens, and a buttery mash or just plain boiled potatoes to be mashed into the sauce.
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