This is an alternate Christmas or Boxing Day dinner. I’ve used kudu here, South African venison but this recipe works just as well with lamb or northern hemisphere venison. The secret to this recipe is slow cooking, so you end up with tender and succulent meat.
Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 120 minutes/Serves: 6
Ingredients:
2.25kg (5lb) whole shoulder of venison
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 large onions, cut into quarters
750g (1lb 10oz) waxy potatoes, such as Desiree, peeled and cut into thick 2cm (¾in) slices
570ml (1pint) hot lamb or beef stock
green vegetables, to serve
For the gravy:
3 tbsp cooking fat
50g (1¾oz) plain flour
450ml (16fl oz) hot lamb or beef stock
100ml (3½fl oz) red wine
1–2 tsp redcurrant jelly
few drops of Worcestershire sauce
gravy browning (optional)
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 220C (200C Fan/435F/Gas Mark 7).
Sit the meat, skin-side up, on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife, poke irregular holes through the meat. Insert the garlic into the holes.
Transfer the meat to a roasting tin and roast for about 20 minutes until brown. Carefully turn the meat over and roast for a further 20–30 minutes until browned all over.
Boil the onion in water for 10 minutes, then add the potatoes and boil for 4 minutes. Drain thoroughly in a colander.
Remove the meat from the roasting tin. Add the onions and potatoes to the base of the tin and mix together. Pour over the stock, then put the meat on top and cover tightly with foil.
Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160C (140C Fan/320F/Gas Mark 3) and cook for 3½–4 hours, or until the meat is completely tender. Remove the lamb from the tin and place on a board. Strain off the fat from the tin into a small bowl in order to use in the gravy. Increase the oven to 220C (200C Fan/430F/Gas Mark 7) and put the potatoes and onions back into the oven to brown for 25 minutes.
To make the gravy, spoon the lamb fat into a saucepan. Add the flour and stir over the heat for 30 seconds. Whisk in the stock, wine, redcurrant jelly, Worcestershire sauce and browning. Whisk until thickened and bubbling.
Carve the meat and serve with gravy and potatoes and onion. Serve with green vegetables.
