Recipes: Roast Haunch of Venison, Red Cabbage, Stalker Pie & Whisky Mustard Sauce, Roast Haunch of Venison with red cabbage

Roast Haunch of Venison, Red Cabbage, Stalker Pie & Whisky Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

300g Venison Mince

2 carrots

Small turnip

2 sticks of celery

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

half a tbsp tomato puree

500ml Beef Stock

Salt & Pepper to season

500g Potatoes

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180c. Place a large pan on the heat and add the olive oil. Fry off the mince until browned. Chop all veg, add to mince and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree, balsamic vinegar and flour and stir until flour is soaked up. Add beef stock and season with salt and pepper, simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel potatoes and boil in water until soft. Drain water, mash and add butter and milk to taste. Season with a pinch salt and pepper.

Spoon mince mixture into small (one serving) oven proof dishes and top with the mashed potatoes. Place in oven at 180c for 40 minutes.

Roast Haunch of Venison with red cabbage

Ingredients

900g haunch of venison (ask butcher to seam bone and portion into 6 x150g pieces, keep bones)

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme

1 clove of garlic

15g fresh ginger

1 fresh chilli

50ml olive oil

2 carrots

2 sticks of celery

3 medium onions

1 whole head of red cabbage

12 wild mushrooms

200ml red wine

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp redcurrant jelly

2 knobs of butter

Method

Take your 6 x 150g portions of venison and place in a large dish. Mix together the chopped rosemary and thyme, finely sliced garlic clove, ginger, and chopped chilli in a separate bowl and drizzle with 50ml of olive oil. Pour this marinade over the venison portions, cover and leave at least overnight in the fridge but up to 2-3 days if you can.

To make the stock, chop carrots, celery and 2 onions and lightly fry in oil in a large heavy bottom pan. Add venison bones and red wine and reduce for 5 minutes. Add a litre of water and simmer for 6 hours. Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms in a knob of butter until soft and starting to brown. Add sautéed mushroom to stock for last 10 minutes of simmering. This will form your sauce.

Place a large pan on the heat and add the other knob of butter. Sweat the remaining chopped onion in the butter until soft for a few minutes. Shred the cabbage head into small pieces and add to onions. Add cinnamon, balsamic vinegar and red currant jelly and gentle simmer for 1 hour.

Heat oven to 180c. To cook the venison after marinating, season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan and fry until lightly brown for a minute on each side. Place on a roasting tray and put in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Once cooked, cut pieces into thin slices.

To serve, place a portion of cabbage on a plate and place the thin slices of venison on top. Spoon over some of the sauce (stock) and a couple of the mushrooms. Place the small dish of Stalker Pie next to it and serve .

Whisky and Mustard Sauce, serves 6

Ingredients

500ml beef stock

50ml whisky

100ml double cream

1tbsp grain mustard

Salt & pepper

Method

In a saucepan over a low heat simmer the stock to reduce it to about half of original amount. Add the whisky, then cream while stirring continuously. Stir in the mustard. Return the saucepan to the hob and over a medium heat bring the sauce back to the boil while stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste.