Diced Venison and Lardons Casserole | The Ethical Butcher
What could be a better autumn comfort dish! If you're unfamiliar with venison, this recipe is a great place to start, with its rich and deep flavours that are not as strong and gamey as you might think – just deep and satisfying.
Ingredients:
1kg of Ethical Butcher diced parkland venison
20g dried porcini mushrooms or mixed mushrooms
250g fresh chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
150g of Ethical Butcher smoked bacon lardons offcuts
A little olive oil
20g plain flour (gluten-free if preferred)
1 large onion (thickly sliced)
3 cloves of garlic (sliced)
2 carrots (chopped in large chunks)
2 parsnips (chopped in large chunks)
2tsp mixed spice
1tbsp of tomato puree
250ml of dry red wine
1 bottle of Spring Broth chicken stock
Seasoning
Half an orange
Method:
Soak the dried mushrooms in boiled water for 20 minutes, drain and keep the liquid, roughly chop.
Heat a pan on medium heat and add the lardons; cook until golden and starting to crisp then remove from the pan, leaving in the rendered fat.
Toss the diced venison in seasoned flour and the mixed spice, ensuring each piece has a thin dusting of flour.
Using the same pan as you used to cook the lardons, heat a big splosh of oil and add the venison in small batches, browning all sides and putting to one side (this may take 3 or 4 batches).
Add the onions and garlic to the pan (adding more oil if necessary), cook for 2 minutes until softening, add the carrots and parsnips and turn them into the onion and garlic, covering them with all the oil and juices from the pan.
Turn up the heat, add the tomato puree and the red wine, and gently stir the vegetables.
Now add the venison, smoked lardons, the liquid from the porcini mushrooms, the beef stock, and the juice of the orange.
Bring everything to the boil and then turn down to simmer on a low heat. Cover the pan and cook for an hour.
Now add the sliced mushrooms, cover the pan and continue to cook for another 30-40 minutes.
Serve with creamy mash and a few steamed greens.