Mr DDD has useful hobbies of the catching, shooting and bagging kind. For this I am eternally grateful - any activity which puts meat, or fish, on the table is quite alright with me. The other day, he went traipsing around Hampshire and came home with 2 hind legs of roe deer. Fresh, organic, sustainable, utterly free range. Fantastico! So, what can you do with this?
After Mr D butchered the meat (cutting along muscle lines) we had 2 big, flat bits suitable for steaks, 2 small roasts and loads of chunks that I cut into a large dice which filled 4 or 5 freezer bags, each enough for a hearty 2-person meal – and perhaps most importantly, the bones.
These dishes that follow are all entirely invented. This is not a boast - it is a disclaimer …
The base [bones]
I took all the bones and (being temporarily ovenless) fried them in a massive pan with star anise and cinnamon stick and some tomato paste added at the end. Also skinned and halved some shallots and threw them in to caramelise to the point of burning.
I put all the solids in a pressure cooker with plenty of water and cooked on high pressure for 45mins to 1hr.
Once the stock had finished, I drained it and set it aside. This would prove to jellify beautifully and can be frozen.
Dish 1: Scrapings [bones]
I took all the stock drainings - bits of meat that came ultra-softly off the bones and flakes of shallot - and fried them up. When they were dry-ish, I served with plenty of salt and a squeezing of lemon juice. A tiny and odd dish, but the lemon cut nicely through the fattiness and it had the extra satisfaction of knowing nothing was wasted. You can pretend you're in a hunting lodge while you eat it, if you like. No photos. It wasn't pretty.
Dish 2: Curry [1 pack diced venison]
This was made using a ready-made paste I was trying out, albeit an all-natural superior kind of pack that I got at the Country Living show. It's basically to save having to mince garlic, etc.
If I hadn't, I would probably have used minced garlic and fried the meat with garam masala, cinnamon, ground coriander and ground cumin, and grated ginger if I had it, then added the garlic and cooked with plenty of salt and possibly a little sugar. This is the sort of ignorant, catch-all curry I usually come up with. If someone can put me on a better path to curry enlightenment, do let me know. Bear in mind - I'm certainly not at the being bothered to roast and grind my own spices stage yet. I digress …
I diced onions also and added some flour to thicken. Simmered for about 45 minutes. It was scrumptious. Served with mixed brown/white rice and an improvised saag aloo, with crisped onion on top.
Dish 3: Ragu [1 pack diced venison]
I whizzed up diced venison in the food processor with a tin of peeled plum tomatoes. I wasn't sure how it would turn out but it became a gunky mixture, which when fried/heated in a saucepan turned into a very smooth and pale mince. Success!
I then added - and go with me on this one - a tin of anchovies, finely chopped. This gives amazing depth of flavour and doesn't taste fishy at all. Diced some onion and added it, and several tablespoons of the now-gelatinous aromatic venison stock. Then a mushroom stock cube for extra flavour (though next time I wouldn't - it wasn't really needed) and a squeeze of tomato puree. Finally, some thinly sliced lemon zest.
When it was no longer very liquid (the meat was just below the surface when simmering - about 15 or 20 mins in total), I cooked De Cecco pappardelle – my very favourite pasta, which is ideal for thick meat sauces and especially game – tossed it with extra virgin olive oil and then with the sauce. Finally, crumbled hard cheese on top.
Very proud of this one. The anise and cinnamon were fragrant but the overall flavour was savoury. I almost added raisins - I think they'd go well, but maybe with less tomato puree and without the stock cube. It's a bit of a southern Italian approach, to have citrus and spices with game and/or fish, but also reminiscent of English medieval recipes. I ate the leftovers warmed up, with good white bread. Back to the hunting lodge …
Dish 4: Sweet potato soup [stock]
This is hardly venisony, but just shows what a good stock and a super-exciting new ingredient can inspire one to. This stock had oriental notes (cinnamon, star anise) so I went further down that route.
I cut up sweet potatoes into a large dice, keeping the skin on (cause it's healthier like that). Put it in the simmering stock. Then I took this splendid 'peanut pate', which is basically peanut butter with garlic and shrimp. I tried some spread on bread, and had to spend 10 minutes standing over the jar, just checking that the deliciousness extended right the way down. Bloody lovely.
I stirred in a dollop of the paste, then added keffir lime leaves and a sliced, rehydrated medium chili. Going for a sort of Malaysian, Thai thing. I then had to leave off and refrigerate.
On day 2, I reheated the soup, added a couple of handfuls of fresh baby spinach, thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms and then finally, a hearty sploosh of fish sauce and fresh coriander on top.
The sweet potatoes went a bit mushy, which thickened the soup but that was nice. You could go for a more brothy approach but this was filling and nourishing. A bit mild, though (in the pejorative sense) - the sort of thing you'd get from Covent Garden soup people, or in an Innocent veg pot.
Obviously you could make it vegetarian by using an oriental spiced vegetable stock instead of venison.
There's plenty of deer left, so check back for a second installment of DDD recipes.
Also coming up: I taste 7 - count them, SEVEN - different bird eggs (including ostrich), review St John Bread and Wine, get angry about a Thai restaurant in Cambridge and brunch file Marylebone's La Fromagerie.
I can set you on the path to curry enlightment.
A good venison thai jungle curry can be had in Chiang Mai in Oxford
Posted by: Nick | 05/23/2010 at 01:28 PM