Venison, Bay Casserole

Serves 6

Preparation: 45 minutes

Cooking Time:  2 hours

Cuisine: Game

Difficulty: Easy/Medium



Warming Winter venison Casserole, or you could use Mixed Game and has a wonderful flavour and is not too rich.

Beautifully paired with Parsnip Purée with Mashed Potatoes and Greens, with the added touch of creamed Horseradish.    A fabulous find - a Guest Recipe from Daylesford Organic Farms.

When I cooked this using mixed game, I cooked this on top of the hob for a good half an hour and then transferred to the oven for a further 45 minutes - this was ample cooking time.

Ingredients

• 1 kg Venison haunch, diced (or you can use mixed game)
• 2-3 tablespoons plain flour
• 250ml Port (or you can substitute this with red wine or medium/dry Sherry)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 bay leaves
  
• 50g butter
• 100g streaky bacon, sliced
• 4 sticks celery, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 - 3 tablespoons flour (check for thickness of the gravy to suit preference)
• 800g shallots, peeled 
• 500ml beef stock (I used stock cubes) NOTE - YOU MAY NOT NEED VERY MUCH LIQUID!!
• 400g button mushrooms (I used two packs button mushrooms)
• 250g pack of cooked chestnuts, chopped in half
• 1 heaped teaspoon English mustard

For the Parsnip Purée

• 750g parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 500 ml whole milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 peppercorns
• 50g butter
• A pinch of nutmeg
• Squeeze of lemon
• Salt and Pepper

For the Greens

• 1 small Savoy or Sweetheart Cabbage, cut into quarters and sliced diagonally
• 30g butter
• Grating of fresh horseradish or desertspoonful of creamed horseradish

AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO.....

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C / 140°C fan.
   
   
2. To prepare the shallots, slice off the top and bottoms, remove the loose outside skins and make a sharp cut down one side from top to bottom in the remaining skin.   Place into a large bowl and cover with boiling water and leave for about ten minutes.   The heat of the water helps to swell the onions and the skins just come away very easily.   Put the prepared shallots to one side in a colander until required.
   
   
3. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry bacon until golden and crispy, remove from pan and set aside.
   
   
4. Using the same pan, brown the venison or diced game in batches, setting aside together with the bacon when done. I like to sprinkle between one and three tablespoons of flour over the meat whilst browning as this helps to thicken the gravy later.
   
   
5. De-glaze the frying pan over a medium heat, pouring in the port, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to the boil, scraping all of the solids from the bottom of the pan and simmering for 2 minutes.     Pour everything into the pan containing the meat and bacon.
   
   
6. Heat the frying pan and add the butter, celery, garlic and shallots. Fry for 10 minutes, until the shallots start to look  golden and the vegetables have softened.
   
   
7. Stir in the stock; (PLEASE NOTE, YOU MAY NOT NEED THE FULL 500 ML) once simmering pour into the casserole pan with the meat.
   
   
8. If cooking with Mixed Game - Add salt and pepper, bring to the boil and place in the oven for 30 mins. 
   
   
9. Now add the mushrooms, chestnuts and mustard, stir well and cook for a further 15 mins.
   
   
10. If cooking Venison - After one hour, add the button mushrooms, chestnuts and mustard and return to the oven for a further hour.
    
    
11. In the meantime, make the parsnip purée by placing the chopped parsnips in a saucepan with the milk, bay leaf and peppercorns, bringing it to the boil.                                                                                                                                                               .
12. Simmer very gently for 12 minutes until the parsnip easily breaks under the back of a fork.
    
    
13. Drain the saucepan, reserving the milk.
    
    
14. Place the cooked parsnip in a blender with the butter, nutmeg, lemon and a little of the milk. Whizz until you have a very smooth puree, adding more of the warm milk if needed.
    
    
15. For the greens, heat the butter in a large frying pan and add the shredded cabbage along with 100ml water.
    
    
16. Fry for 5 minutes until wilted but still bright green.
    
    
17. Add a little fresh horseradish, salt and pepper.
    
    
18. Once the casserole is ready, remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs and serve together with either mashed potatoes or with Dauphinoise Potatoes
    
    

*COOK'S TIP.     Keep sprigs of thyme and bay leaves in ziplock bags in the freezer.   They keep well this way and so useful to have on hand.