Wild venison is at the heart of many of our feasts and courses. An incredible wild meat available in abundance, it is not only nutritious and flavourful, but also the most sustainable meat we can source here in the UK.
Venison packs a punch in flavour. A healthy, sustainable and readily available alternative to other types of red meat – no cholesterol and full of antioxidants. We’ve made it part of our mission to encourage more people to eat venison (as well as all seasonal wild game), it’s flavour and health benefits are unrivalled by any other red meat, and the significant upstream benefits for our ecosystem are indisputable.
Here at The Salt Box, Venison features heavily in our courses and feasts. One of our most popular day courses is our Wild Venison Butchery & Cookery Course – where we spend the day breaking down a carcass in the fur, learning how to make the most of the whole animal from nose to tail, and turning it into a selection of delicious dishes.
This Wild Venison Ragu is a brilliant winter warmer, a firm favourite on our Wild Italian cookery course and a great crowdpleaser. We hope you enjoy it!
500g venison shoulder, diced
4 rashers streaky bacon
½ onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 sprigs thyme and 1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 glass red wine
300ml stock, to cover (Venison/Rabbit if possible, otherwise beef stock will do)
Finely chop your onion, celery, and carrot.
Heat a heavy based pot over a medium heat and add in a drizzle of rapeseed oil. Gently sauté everything for around ten minutes until translucent.
Add the garlic, and continue to fry until fragrant, being careful not to burn anything.
Add the diced bacon to the pan and cook until the fat renders from the bacon. Add the venison shoulder and fry gently turning every now and again until just beginning to brown on the edges.
Pour in the wine and reduce by half.
Stir in the tomato puree, then add the bay leaf and thyme, and cover everything with stock.
Pop a lid on the pot, then simmer on a really low heat for at least two hours, until the venison is falling apart and your wild venison ragu is ready to eat!
Only at this stage, add salt and pepper to your taste. We hope you enjoy your wild venison ragu!
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Here at The Salt Box, Venison features heavily in our courses and feasts. One of our most popular day courses is our Wild Venison Butchery & Cookery Course – where we spend the day breaking down a carcass in the fur, learning how to make the most of the whole animal from nose to tail, and turning it into a selection of delicious dishes.
In this recent blog post, we explore why we should all eat more venison, where to find it and how to cook it to enjoy at home with your friends and family.
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