Venison Casserole

Serves 8

 

Venison makes a rich, flavoursome stew that is also low in fat and high in nutrients and protein! Serve with fresh crusty bread, boiled potatoes or rice. Alternatively, it can be used as a pie filling and served with green vegetables or mashed root vegetables.

 

Ingredients:

2 kg diced venison (ask your butcher for a cut suitable for stewing)

1.5 litres red wine

2 large onions, peeled and sliced into chunky pieces

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into chunky pieces

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2x bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaves and parsley)

Olive oil

2x 15mg plain flour

400g pancetta or bacon lardons

600ml beef stock

300g button mushrooms

 

Chopped parsley to garnish

Salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Method:

The day before, dice the venison and peel and slice the onions and carrots. Place the meat and vegetables in a large bowl, add 60ml of olive oil, the red wine and the bouquet garni. Cover and leave this to marinade in a cool place overnight, or for at least six hours, stirring occasionally.

 

Drain the meat and dry it very well, keeping the wine and other ingredients from the bowl to one side.

 

Fry the pancetta until brown, remove it from the pan keeping the fat and place it in a large oven proof casserole pan. Drain the onion, carrot and bouquet garni from the marinade and fry in the fat from the pancetta (add oil if necessary). Add the fried onion and carrot to the casserole dish.

 

Toss the dried venison in the flour until fully coated, season with salt and pepper and sauté the meat in batches until browned. Place the browned meat in the casserole pan. Preheat the oven to 150˚.

 

Peel and crush the garlic cloves. Discard any excess fat from the frying pan used to fry the pancetta and vegetables. Add the wine from the marinade and the garlic and stir to dissolve any pan juices, then add them to the casserole. Add the beef stock and bring to the boil on a stove. Remove from heat, cover and place in the preheated oven for 3 hours, occasionally checking and stirring. Add water if the casserole seems too dry. Cook until the meat is tender.

 

Before serving, sauté the mushrooms in butter and add to the casserole. Simmer on the stove top and check the seasoning. Reduce the sauce if necessary.

 

Chop the parsley and add as a garnish. This dish can be made in advance and defrosted the day before, just add the mushrooms and simmer on the stove to reduce the sauce slightly.

 

Pie Option:

To turn the casserole into a hearty pie, put the casserole contents in a large pie dish and cover with puff pastry, glaze with a beaten egg and bake slowly for about 45 minutes on approx 180˚ or until pastry is golden brown.

 

Photos courtesy of Ian Monk