Positive response to my recent wild duck feature has encouraged me to continue the game theme for these winter warmers.
Wild venison and goat both have amazing flavour and are healthier than other red meats - with less saturated fat and more iron - so they make a great source of protein.
I also find that adding venison and goat to the menu eases the beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish monotony.
Dinner guests are always receptive to something different, and I like to give them a taste of our land if they don’t live around these parts, so I keep the freezer stocked for easy entertaining.
Venison and goat are lean so you must consider the cut and the cooking method.
As you may have picked up from the duck feature, I’m inclined to take the easy route when it comes to wild foods - so slow cooking it is, especially when it arrives in chunks (from the hunter who has considerately done the dirty work for me), and I am unsure what part of the animal the meat has come from.
I have adapted these recipes from those that use beef and lamb, and I encourage you to do the same with any favourite stew, casserole, braise or curry.
I haven’t tried it, but the stew should work well for rabbit if that’s your cull of the day, adjusting cooking time accordingly.
Kale salad
I serve a kale salad alongside meaty stews to satisfy less meat-focused diners.
Kale is highly nutritious and is a hardy, quick-growing crop - it’s a bit of a winter wonder - I add it to a lot of dishes, including soups and smoothies for extra shot of goodness.
SERVES: 6 AS A SIDE
200g kale
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp salt
¼ cup chopped tamari almonds
¹⁄₃ cup grated parmesan
Method
Remove the large, tough stems from the kale leaves.
Roll leaves in bunches and chop thinly.
Whisk oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt to form a dressing.
Rub dressing through the kale leaves. A little massaging tenderises the leaves.
Sprinkle with almonds and parmesan.
Venison stew
Red wine, port and aromatic spices are great mates with venison so marinating the meat in them overnight imparts good flavour and can act as a tenderiser. Double the red wine if you don’t have port.
This makes a nice big pot of stew that is thickened with pearl barley which adds fibre to the nutritional benefits of venison - this is good stuff.
Don’t skip the gremolata, it brings a fresh, vibrant aroma, and an extra layer of flavour. Serve with mounds of creamy mashed potato and winter greens or try a kale salad.
SERVES: 6
1.2kg venison, cut into 2cm pieces, removing any sinew
Marinade
250ml red wine
250ml port
3 large sprigs thyme
5 bay leaves
3 large sprigs rosemary
5 juniper berries
10 peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1 onion, chopped
Stew
3 Tbsp olive oil
10 baby onions or 5 shallots
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
¼ cup pearl barley
200g mushrooms, halved if small, quartered if large
Method
Add the venison and marinade ingredients to a large non-reactive bowl. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
Remove from the fridge a couple of hours before cooking to bring the meat to room temperature.
Heat the oven to 160°C.
Drain the venison, reserving the juices for later use. Discard thyme, bay leaves and rosemary.
Heat the oil in an ovenproof casserole pan. Salt the venison and fry in batches to brown all over. Remove to a plate.
Fry the baby onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the pan to give a little colour, then stir in the tomato paste, marinade liquid, beef stock and pearl barley. Scrape up any browning on the bottom of the pan as it comes to the boil.
Cover the pan and cook in the oven for 1 hour.
Add the mushrooms and cook for a further hour, or until the meat is tender. Add more stock or water if it’s starting to look dry.
Top with gremolata (see below) just before serving.
Gremolata
Mix 2 tsp chopped rosemary, zest of 1 lemon, 2 cloves crushed garlic and 3 Tbsp chopped parsley.
Goat curry
Mention goat curry and most people say “yum”, because it feels exotic, and they’ve enjoyed it on their travels around the world. The Pacific Islands, French Polynesia, Malaysia, Jamaica - it’s everywhere.
Simply take your favourite curry recipe and swap out the meat for goat, as I have here with Madhur Jaffrey’s (my go-to for anything Indian) rogan josh.
Serve with rice and sauteed winter greens.
SERVES: 4
5cm piece ginger
8 cloves garlic
Vegetable oil, for frying
900g goat meat, cut into 2.5cm cubes
10 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
10 peppercorns
2.5cm stick cinnamon
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1¼ tsp salt
8 Tbsp plain yoghurt
1.5 cups water
¼ tsp garam masala
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Peel and grate the ginger (using a microplane or fine grater). Peel and grate or crush the garlic. Combine the two with 4 Tbsp water to form a paste.
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy-based saucepan over a medium-high heat. Brown the goat meat in batches and set aside.
Put the cardamom, bay, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon into the same hot oil. Stir and once the cloves swell and the bay takes on colour (2 seconds) add the onions and fry 5 minutes until they brown.
Stir in the ginger and garlic paste, then the coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne and salt. Cook for 30 seconds then return the meat to the pan and stir until well combined.
Add 1 Tbsp of the yoghurt, stirring until the yoghurt is well blended. Add the remaining yoghurt, 1 Tbsp at a time, in the same way. Stir fry for another 3-4 minutes.
Add 1.5 cups water. Bring to the boil, scraping down all the browned spices from the sides of the pan. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender. Stir every 10 minutes or so, adding more water if necessary. If the juices are looking too thin once the meat is tender, turn the heat up to boil some of the liquid away with the lid off.
If fat has collected on the top of the curry, spoon it off and pluck out the bay leaves and as many cardamom pods and cloves as possible.
Mix in the garam masala and a good grind of black pepper just before serving.
