VENISON SHANK AND CHESTNUT

MUSHROOM SUET PUDDING

Serves 6

THE BRITISH LARDERRECIPE

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VENISON AND MUSHROOM FILLING

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 160°C.Pat the venison shank dry with kitchenpaper, coat the shank in seasoned flour.Heat some oil in a large oven safe casseroledish and sauté the shank until golden brown all over, remove from the casseroledish, set aside and return the casserole dishto the heat.Cut the leek, onion, celery and carrots thesame size and sauté in the dish until goldenbrown, add the tomato puree, the remainingflour, sugar, crushed coriander and juniperberries. Cook for 5 minutes over a low heat,deglaze the dish with the Port wine andcook until the Port is absorbed by thevegetables and becomes thick and sticky. Return the venison shank to the dish, addingthe stock, rosemary and bay leaf, cover with a lid and bring the stock to the boil.Then place the covered dish in a preheatedoven for 2 ! hours.Once cooked, remove from the oven andleave to cool for 10 minutes. Remove themeat, set aside and pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a small saucepan.

• 700g venison shank (one largeshank would be enough)

• 50g plain flour• 2tbs sunflower oil• 2 carrots• 1/2 leek• 1 onion, peeled• 2 stocks of celery• 30g tomato puree• 3 in number juniper berries,

crushed• 1 clove of garlic crushed• 1/2 tsp sugar• 160ml Port Wine

• 1L chicken stock• Sprig of rosemary• 2 bay leaves• 150g chestnut mushrooms

cut in quarters• 30g unsalted butter• Salt and freshly cracked black

pepper• 1tbs chopped continental parsley• 1tbs chopped chives• 1tsp sherry vinegar• 1kg Suet Pastry

(www.britishlarder.co.uk)

Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer andreduce until thickened. Remove the bone and sinew and flake the cooked venison meat.Heat a frying pan with butter and sauté the seasoned chestnut mushrooms untilgolden brown, then transfer to a mixingbowl. Add the flaked venison shank (about 350g), 200ml of the reduced sauce,the sherry vinegar, the chopped parsley and chives, and mix well. Set aside to cool.Lightly grease six 5cm high x 7.5cm widepudding basins with sunflower oil.On a lightly floured work surface roll thepastry 3 - 4mm thick and line the puddingbasins with the suet pastry.Fill each dish with 110g of well mixed piefilling, dividing the liquid evenly. Dampenthe rim with cold water and cover eachpudding with a suet pastry lid, crimp andmake a large steam hole in the centre of thelid with a metal skewer.Steam the puddings for 1 hour then turn the puddings out onto warm serving plates.Bring the sauce back to the boil and spoon a generous amount of sauce over eachpudding. Serve with cooked green beans.

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