Hello

[welsh wizard]

Hi Toby.

I'm glad your venision forray went well and I am also glad you gave the pineapple a go, but it is no surprise the children liked them - my wife is always saying I am a big kid!

Paul: If you ever get the chance to get hold of the venison liver it really is delicious. Just fry it off quickly as normal. Unfortunatly the old gout gets in the way a bit regarding offal for me and various friends decend when they know I have beast and remind me just how painful gout really is and in an instant liver, kidneys and heart vanish into thin air - such is life!

[welsh wizard]

Hi Paul again.

Pics were good, but not a lot of beer seen in the fridge

Did you take the loin off and cook that seperatly? I only ask as I have not yet tried Muntjack loin (dont seem to get a lot of these around here) and was wondering what the taste was like

[Paul Kribs]

Welsh Wizard

Beer doesn't last long in any of the fridges..

I have been mostly imbibing red wine tho', on the recommendation of the doctor

I took the 4 loins and trimmed them clean of the silver membrane, then sliced them about 1/2" thick on the diagonal and vac packed and froze them.. They will be eaten with no additions.. I must say they felt very tender and I am looking forward to trying them.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Deer Man]

Paul, Welsh Wizard,

the loins/ saddles from the muntjac will be excellent! Slightly biased I suppose If you like them rare and venison is best rare you should cut them into 6" sections and then cut them into medalions. Having said that I like mine medium done.

Muntjac is my favourite venison. Skinning can be made easier if you hang the beast, you get more leverage around the shoulders and kneck. Its just a matter of when to pull and when to cut.

Paul, can't wait to see your results, sound yummy!

[Oddley]

Deer Man, I wish I'd have known you when I had a mobile home on point clear clacton. I would have loved to come out for a day or so stalking, even as an observer.

I used to love hunting.

[Paul Kribs]

There was a interesting snippet on the TV yesterday on uktvfood about Fallow deer. Including a local butchers who dealt mainly with the venison reared on the local estate. As I recall, all deer are slaughtered by 22 months.
The butcher had even rolled the belly around some pork sausage meat (also reared locally), as well as lots of other cuts. The cooking part showed a loin which had been french dressed, ie. spine removed and rib bones trimmed of flesh. He flash fried both sides to seal it then put in the oven so that it was cooked rare. I have looked on their site and the recipe is Rosemary and Garlic-roasted Venison with Braised Chicory, you can watch a video of this recipe. I have included another recipe for venison, which I just stole from their site.

Venison Fillet with an Apricot and Honey Stuffing
by Ed Baines
from Good Food Live

For a splendid autumn meal try Ed Baines�s apricot-stuffed roast venison with polenta and cabbage, a wonderfully flavourful combination

Servings: 6
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Preparation Time: 40 minutes, , plus 24 hours pre-soaking
Cooking Time: 1 hour


You will need: Cook�s knife, Cutting boards, Saucepan, Spatulas

Ingredients
500g venison fillet
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper

For the apricot stuffing
250g Dried apricots
200ml White wine, sweet
100g pistachio kernels, ground
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 handful breadcrumbs

For the polenta
400ml water
200g quick cook polenta
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
200g Butter
1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper

For the red cabbage
0.5 red cabbage, finely shredded
100g raisins
200ml orange, juice, freshly squeezed
100g Sugar


Method
1. First prepare the apricot stuffing. Soak the dried apricots in the honey and sweet white wine for 24 hours.

2. To cook the red cabbage, place the red cabbage, raisins, orange juice and zest and sugar in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and summer gently for 1 hour, stirring now and then.
3. Meanwhile, strain the soaked apricots and finely chop them. Mix together the chopped apricots, ground pistachios, lemon juice and zest and breadcrumbs.

4. Using a long, sharp knife cut a cavity in the venison fillet. Place the apricot mixture in a piping bag with a large nozzle and pipe the filling into the cavity.

5. Preheat the oven to 200�C/gas 6.

6. Heat a heavy roasting pan on the hob until hot. Add in the olive oil, heat through, then add in the stuffed venison fillet. Sear the venison on all sides. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

7. Transfer the venison in the pan to the oven and roast it for 10 minutes.

8. Remove the venison and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.

9. While the venison is roasting, cook the polenta. Bring the water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add in the instant polenta in a steady stream, stirring as you do so. Cook, stirring constantly, until the polenta thickens, then simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes. Mix in the Parmesan and butter and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper.

10. To serve, slice the venison fillet and serve it with the polenta and red cabbage.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Paul Kribs]

Thought I should post this one as well:

Venison, Stilton and Beer Pie
by Ed Baines
from Good Food Bites

For a gloriously indulgent pie try Ed Baines's recipe, combining tasty venison with Stilton cheese and a rich ale

Servings: 4-6
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Preparation Time: 30 minutes, plus cooling and chilling
Cooking Time: 1 hour


You will need: Food mill

Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
200g turnips, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 Shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic clove, chopped
5 thyme stalks, leaves picked, finely chopped
400g venison chuck steak, cubed
25g plain white flour
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp English mustard powder
juice of 1 lemon
salt and fresh ground black pepper
200ml Innis & Gunn Oak-Aged beer
300ml fresh game stock
300g Stilton cheese, broken into chunks
500g short crust pastry
2 eggs, beaten
1 bay leaf

To serve:
boiled potatoes
boiled carrots


Method
1. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan. Add in the turnip, parsnip, carrot, shallot, garlic and thyme.

2. Fry, stirring often, until the vegetables are lightly browned.

3. Dust the venison with some of the flour and the sugar.

4. Add the venison to the pan and fry briefly, stirring. Mix in the remaining flour, mustard and lemon juice. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

5. Over a low heat add in the beer and the game stock.

6. Slowly bring just to boiling point. Remove from direct heat, allow to cool and mix in the Stilton. Transfer the venison mixture to a large bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator.

7. Preheat the oven to 140�C/gas 1.

8. Roll out the shortcrust pastry and use two-thirds of the pastry to line a pie dish. Using a fork, prick the pastry case and brush with the beaten egg.

9. Bake the pastry pie case for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven. Increase the oven temperature to 150�C/gas 2.

10. Fill the pastry case with the chilled venison mixture and top with a bay leaf. Use the remaining pastry to form a pie lid, crimping the edges down. Brush with the beaten egg.

11. Bake the pie for 30 minutes until golden. Serve hot from the oven with the boiled potatoes and carrots.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Deer Man]

Paul,

if you have a haunch spare try this.

Butterfly the haunch

make small cuts with the point of a knife about 10mm all over one side.

slice several cloves of garlic and place one slice with a small sprig of rosemary in each cut

do the same to the other side

you should now have a flat looking hedge hog!

brush with olive oil and place on a hot bbq! Turn once or twice.

slice and eat, your friends should stay close to the bbq or they may not get any

Oddley clear point is just down the road, prices have rocketed!

[Paul Kribs]

Deer Man

That is similar to how I used to do leg or shoulder of lamb, without butterflying.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Oddley]

Deer Man That's the reason I sold the mobile home, it was costing in upkeep near the same as my place in London. I used to love going to the clacton area for weekends and holidays.

Up in the village "where the large old manor house is" you could get the best uncut brown loaf I've ever tasted, and more or less opposite there was a deli/butchers type shop, used to sell great ham etc.

I liked the people too. If they have too much produce grown in their garden they leave it out front with a little sign saying how much it is and trust you to pay. Great way of getting home produce at a reasonable cost.

[welsh wizard]

All the good venision recipies noted and will have a go at the stilton one for sure.

For interest I cooked a lot of venision steaks on the old BBQ this year taken from the haunch - very nice indeed!