Venison And Chocolate Casserole Food

SPICED BRAISED VENISON WITH CHILLI & CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the meat in batches. Add the vegetables in the dish and brown lightly, then stir in the spices, chilli and flour, and cook for a few mins. Pour in the wine, stock and tomatoes, then add the herbs. Bring to a simmer.
• Cover with a lid and put in the oven for 1 hr 30 mins, then remove the lid and cook for a further 1 hr until the meat is really tender. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly, then stir in the chocolate and serve.

VENISON AND CHOCOLATE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Turn on and heat the oven at 180C (360F Gas 4).
• Fry the onions in a frying pan with a tablespoon of oil and the Worcestershire sauce until soft and translucent then set aside in your casserole dish.
• Mix the flour, salt and pepper, garlic salt and sage in a bowl and coat the meat a few pieces at a time.
• Gently fry the meat on a medium heat with some more olive oil till brown on each side. Do not "crowd" the pan (I usually only do 5 or 6 pieces of meat at a time).
• Add the browned meat to the onions in your casserole dish and give it a good stir to mix the meat and onions up.
• When you have floured and browned all the meat you will have a little of the seasoned flour left over, put this to one side as you will need it later.
• Put the fry pan back on the heat and add to it the glass of port then turn down the heat so the port does not boil.
• Once the port is warm add the redcurrant jelly and the chocolate and continue to heat gently until both are melted.
• Put the stock cube and the left over flour in a jug and add the boiling water stirring until you have a smooth paste, then add this to the port and heat gently stirring until you have a rich smooth sauce.
• Add your sauce to the casserole dish and mix well then cover with a lid and place in the oven on the middle shelf for 20 minutes.
• Remove and stir then return to the oven turning the temperature down to 160.
• Cook for around 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender.
• If the gravy/sauce needs thickening put a spoonful of corn flour in a jug and add a few spoonful's of the sauce stirring to a paste then add to the casserole mixing well return to the oven for a few minutes and give it another stir before serving.
• Serve with steamed veg and your choice of potatoes or crusty bread.

VENISON AND PRUNE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Marinate the venison overnight in 300ml of wine and the thyme.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2.
• In a heavy-based pan, heat a third of the butter and gently fry the onions, bacon and rosemary for 10 minutes.
• Tip the meat into a colander over a bowl in the sink, saving the marinade, and season well. Set the marinade aside and scatter the flour on the meat and toss lightly.
• Set aside the oniony-bacon mix, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Add the meat to the pan and fry on a medium heat, stirring regularly.
• Add the carrots, prunes and garlic and fry until you can smell the garlic. Tip the onions and bacon back in and pour in the second glass of red wine and the leftover marinade.
• Bring to the boil, then pour in the stock to submerge the meat. Season, add the bay leaves, then cook in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. The meat is done when it is very tender but still holding its shape.
• About 45 minutes before serving, put the spuds on the boil and drain and mash when soft. Melt the rest of the butter in the milk and warm the chopped chestnut pieces in it before stirring them into the mash. Season well.
• When the stew is cooked, let it sit out of the oven with the lid still on for at least 15 minutes. Skim off any excess fat and season to taste.
• Serve in shallow bowls with the mash, a handful of watercress, and a little blob of cranberry jelly.

VENISON CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Turn on the oven to 170c.
• Melt half the butter in a large lidded casserole.
• Fry the finely diced onion, celery and garlic until softened.
• Add the mushrooms (halved or quartered), borlotti beans and carrots and fry for a further two minutes.
• Add the flour and stir until the butter is absorbed by the flour and the contents of the pan are coated, cook for another two minutes.
• Add the red wine, chopped herbs, bay leaf, redcurrant jelly and crumble in the stock cube, add salt and pepper to taste, stir well leave to simmer.
• Melt the remaining butter in a small frying pan and brown the cubed venison, this should be done as briefly as possible so that the meat does not lose it's tenderness.
• Add the meat to the casserole, put the lid on and place in the middle of the oven.
• After half an hour turn the oven down to 130c and leave to cook for 2-3 hours, check periodically and add more water if needed.