Recipe: Perfect Venison and chestnut casserole

Venison and chestnut casserole. By all means use vacuum-packed chestnuts, but just imagine how roasting your own would make the kitchen smell. (To roast chestnuts, preheat the oven to the hottest setting. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the pan and set it aside. Venison and Chestnut Casserole Enjoy the rich wintery flavours of red wine, chestnuts and tender venison in this hearty casserole.

Stir in the chestnuts, tomato purée and bay leaf. When the meat is cooked, stir in the chestnuts, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot, in the casserole. variations. You can have Venison and chestnut casserole using 14 ingredients and 15 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Venison and chestnut casserole

1. Prepare 2 tbsp of butter or other cooking fat.
2. It's 1 kg of venison, diced.
3. It's 150 g of smoked lardons or chopped bacon.
4. You need 375 ml of red wine (I tend to use Côte de Rhône).
5. Prepare 125 ml of port.
6. It's 5 cloves of garlic, chopped.
7. It's 4 of red onions, in full slices.
8. You need 4 of carrots, diced.
9. You need 3 sticks of celery, largish slices.
10. You need 2 of bay leaves.
11. You need 2 sprigs of thyme.
12. You need 1 tbsp of tomato purée.
13. Prepare 200 g of chestnuts, pre-cooked.
14. You need 1/2 litre of fresh stock, venison stock ideal but can be whatever you have in fridge: foraging begins at home!.

If preferred, or if venison is unavailable, use lean stewing steak or wild boar. Toss the venison pieces in the flour and shake off the excess. Add the remaining oil and bacon and cook until golden. Delia's Braised Venison with Bacon, Chestnuts and Wild Mushrooms in a Rich Madeira Sauce recipe.

Venison and chestnut casserole instructions

1. Prep the ingredients.
2. Preheat oven to Gas Mark 2/150C. My fan oven needs 140C.
3. Heat the butter in a large casserole (I use our old Le Creuset pan) and fry the lardons.
4. Using a slotted spoon, set the lardons aside and fry the diced venison, not too much at a time, and set aside with slotted spoon..
5. Add the wine and bring to boil, stirring bottom of casserole to release any sediment. Add the port and bring back to boil and keep boiling for one minute..
6. Add the garlic, onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms. Stir well..
7. Add the bay leaves, thyme and tomato purée. Give it another quick stir..
8. Add the stock. You need to just cover the other ingredients so you might need slightly more or less stock..
9. Once simmering, cover and put in pre-heated oven..
10. After 1 1/4 hours, remove from oven, stir gently and add the chestnuts..
11. Return to oven for another hour..
12. Check for liquidity and add a little more stock or water to prevent drying out. However, if it’s too liquid-y then simply take the lid off for the last 30 minutes or so..
13. Remove from oven, stir gently, check that the venison is nice and tender..
14. Taste and add any desired seasoning..
15. Serve with desired accompaniments. I always have potatoes and choose from red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, even more carrots. Any winter vegetables go well with this dish..

This casserole freezes extremely well and fits the bill perfectly at Christmas when you have had enough turkey. Because it's braised slowly, there are lots of lovely flavours and because the sauce, made with rich Madeira, is dark and glossy, this cries out for a pile of creamy, This recipe for Venison Casserole with Chestnuts and Cranberries comes from Leiths Meat Bible and has been reproduced courtesy of Leiths School of Food and Wine in London. Leiths Meat Bible is the ultimate meat cookbook. Packed with recipes from all over the world, it has something for every occasion, from a simple after-work supper to an. Remove from pan and keep warm.