18-hour Wild Venison Casserole

INGREDIENTS

Marinated venison:
1.350kg of diced venison shoulder
1.5l of red wine (reduce by half)
1 pinch of coarse ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
3 juniper berries, crushed and finely chopped
150g large onions, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
75g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (2cm dice)
55g celery, cut into 2cm dice

The rest:
1 pinch of coarse ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of thyme
50ml rapeseed oil
2 tsp salt
25g strong white flour, browned for eight minutes in the oven at 220°C
25 button mushrooms
20g unsalted butter

METHOD

Marinated venison:
Place all the ingredients into a large casserole dish with a lid, making sure the wine is still warm when you pour it over. Cover and allow to marinate overnight. Place into a colander and allow to drain for a minimum of two hours until completely dry, reserving the marinade.

For the rest:
Sauté the diced meat in the rapeseed oil, a single layer at a time, until golden for approximately six minutes. Place in a colander to drain any fat. Return the fat to the pan, add the diced vegetables from the marinade and cook until caramelised. Place into the colander with the meat and drain. Then add the browned flour and salt to the sauté pan and gradually add the wine from the marinade, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer for 30 minutes and then pass through a fine sieve. Reduce the sauce down until there is about 450ml, and move to one side.

Place the venison, mushrooms and cooked vegetables into a clean casserole dish, add the sauce and cover with a well fitting lid.

Slow-cook overnight (at least 18 hours) at 70C. Then serve in chunky bowls with creamy mashed potatoes and extra braised winter vegetables if desired.