Venison - never cooked it before, any inspiration??

[maviscrewit]

I have 500g of cubed venison - I'm thinking either pie or stew. Any inspired recipes out there. My DH is really looking forward to it so I don't want to mess it up

This is the stew recipe I use but it requires 12 hours marinading.

Ingredients
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 Carrots, thinly sliced
small handful Rosemary
small handful Thyme
2 Bay leaves
1 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 bottle Red wine
100ml sherry vinegar
400g Venison, cut into bite-sized cubes
6 tbsp Olive oil
100g dark chocolate

Method

1. Place the venison in a large bowl. Mix together the leeks, carrots, onion, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, coriander seeds, red wine and sherry vinegar.

1. Pour over the venison and leave to marinade for 12 hours in the fridge.

1. Remove the meat and vegetables separately from the marinade using a slotted spoon and reserve the marinade. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the venison for 3-4 minutes, until nicely browned all over.

1. Heat the remaining olive oil in a separate pan and fry the vegetables lightly for 3-4 minutes. Add the meat to the vegetables.

1. Stir in the marinade and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and stir in the grated chocolate. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook over a low heat for 3 hours.

I also have a recipe for venison and wild mushroom pie which I will find for you.

This one unfortunately needs to be made in advanced as well (serves 6)

Ingredients
1kg Venison, diced
50g assorted wild mushrooms
Olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
125g pancetta or bacon, cubed
8 Juniper berries, crushed
3 Bay leaves
2 tbsp chopped thyme
2 tbsp plain white flour
300ml Red wine
2 tbsp red currant jelly
1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper
60g pre-rolled, ready-made puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Method

Place the mushrooms in a bowl and just cover with hot water, leave to soak for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a large casserole, add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery, cook for 5-10 minutes until softening. Stir in the pancetta and fry with the vegetables until just beginning to brown. Add the juniper, bay leaves and thyme, sprinkle in the flour, mix well, and set aside.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the venison quickly (in batches) on all sides until crusty and brown. Tip into the casserole as you go. When done, deglaze the frying pan with the wine, bubble up and scrape up the sediment on the bottom of the pan. Pour over the meat and vegetables.

Drain the mushrooms and add to the casserole with 150 ml of the soaking water and the redcurrant jelly. Season really well, and give the whole a good stir. Bring to the boil on top of the stove then simmer for 1 1/2 hours until tender. Leave overnight to cool.

Next day, spoon the stew into six individual pie dishes. Cut out six circles of pastry, a good inch wider than the dishes. Brush the edges of the dishes with beaten egg. Sit the pastry on top of the rim and press the pastry over the edge to seal tightly. Brush with more beaten egg, then make a couple of slits in the top. Set the pies on a couple of baking sheets and chill for 30 minutes or until ready to bake. Bake at 22C for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is risen, and browned.

Wow that sounds superb - I'll get the ingredients and get it marinading tomorrow so it'll be ready for Thurs tea. Thanks so much. The pie sounds good too, I'll save that for next time.

Thanks again Comeoveneer .

Not done this one before but can be made in just a few hours. The quantities are again for 6.

Ingredients
900g venison shoulder, diced
vegetable oil
3 medium Onions, peeled and sliced
2 garlic clove, chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp sweet paprika
6 Juniper berries, crushed
2 tsp dried thyme
1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper
400ml passata
200ml beef stock
600g Potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

Method
Preheat the oven to 160C. Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the meat all over.

Remove the meat to a plate and add the onion and garlic to the casserole. Cook over a medium heat for about 15 minutes until the onion is just tinged with brown.

Mix the paprika with the flour, thyme and juniper berries. Tip the meat and any juices back into the casserole, add the flour and paprika mixture, stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour in the passata and beef stock, season well, stir and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat, cover with a lid and bake in the oven for about two hours. 20 minutes before it is ready, add the potatoes, replace the lid and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve drizzled with soured cream and sprinkled with chopped parsley