Venison is in season and is on sale at local butchers, farmers' markets and farm shops. It is a rich and tasty meat that lends itself to being cooked in beer or wine. By adding beer to this venison casserole and leaving it to rest for a day before serving it, you will get a rich mouthwatering dish that adds warmth to these grey November days. I used Hobgoblin for this dish, which is brewed by Wychwood, the Witney brewery. This copper-red brew adds a delightfully hoppy bitterness to the cooking pot.

YOU WILL NEED: 2lb (900g) boned venison shoulder, cut into cubes 2 medium onions, rough-chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine 2 large carrots, cut into batons the size of a matchstick 4 oz (125g) mushrooms 4oz (125g) piece of smoked bacon, diced small 2 bay leaves 2 sprigs thyme 300 ml beef stock and 300ml hobgoblin beer Oil to fry venison pieces Flour to dust venison before cooking and thicken sauce Salt and freshly ground black peppercorns to season Chopped parsley to garnish finished dish.

METHOD: Trim any fat and sinew from meat, cut into cubes and toss in seasoned flour Heal a little oil in the bottom of a frying pan and fry venison until brown on all sides. You may wish to do this in batches.

Spoon browned meat into heavy-bottomed casserole dish. Do not be tempted to clean the frying pan, those juices collecting at the bottom will add to the flavour.

Add bacon pieces, chopped onions and carrots to the pan, and allow them to brown a little, adding a little more oil if needed.

When the onions begin to brown, add the garlic and allow it to cook for a moment before sprinkling a tablespoon of flour into the mix.

Stir for a moment, then gradually add the stock and then the beer.

Season to taste, pour contents of the pan over the venison, add the bay leaves and sprigs of thyme and cook in a medium oven (160C/325F or gas mark 3) for about two hours, or until the meat is tender.

Add the mushrooms just before you remove the dish from the oven, this enables them to retain a crunchy texture.

If you cook this dish a day before it's needed, the casserole will have developed a superb rounded flavour.

Before serving, remove thyme and bay leaves and sprinkle chopped parsley into the pot.