Stephanie Moon

WINTER MAIN RECIPES

Roe Deer Venison Marinated in Liquorice
Ingredients

Roe deer venison

4 x 160g pieces of venison
1 tbsp concentrated liquorice (available from MSK)
2 stems of foraged mugwort (as an alternative use tarragon)

Dukkah venison

400g pieces of venison shoulder
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 bottle of red wine
fresh herb 2 sprigs of tarragon)
mugwort stems
50g butter for sauce

Dukkah rub

4 tsp cardamom seeds
4 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp peppercorns
2 tsp Indian light spices such as carraway and coriander seeds
alternativley you can purchase Dukkah rub from MSK

Yorkshire Blue cheese potatoes

3 large washed red potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced on a mandolin
600ml double cream
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon of thyme leaves
120g Yorkshire Blue cheese

Damson gin jelly

2 shots Damson gin (this will need to have been made in advance and well marinated – why not use our Sloe Gin recipe?)
¼ pint cranberry juice
4 leaves of gelatine

Spinach puree

200g of spinach leaves, washed and left to dry
knob of butter or a dash of Yorkshire rapeseed oil
salt
ground nutmeg
broccolli from Herbs Unlimited
wild garlic shoots for garnish

Method

Served with foraged herbs, Dukkha Venison, Yorkshire Blue Potatoes, Spinach Puree and Damson Jelly

Serves 4

Today I am using Roe Deer Venison from Yorkshire Game

Dukkah venison

Seal the venison in a hot pan, add the red wine, mugwort stems, herbs and vegetables and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Braise slowly for at least 1½ hours at 160 until tender and thoroughly cooked.

Allow to cool and then flake gently and place in a kitchen aid. Using a paddle beater, mix until the fibres of the meat are broken down but still have their texture. Add 200ml of much reduced venison jus and chopped fresh herbs.

Roll the venison in cling film and set in a sausage-style roll, tied at either end. Place in the fridge to chill and once set, slice into portions and roll in the Dukkah rub.

Pan fry the rolled Dukkah venison cylinder and re-heat in the oven for service.

Strain the liquor you cooked the venison in for the sauce and reduce this down to a sticky paste season and add cold cubed butter to give the sauce a shine.

Roe deer venison

Marinade the mugwort leaves in the liquorice, rub over the venison and then vac pac each piece of venison in the marinade and cook at 63 in a water bath. Alternatively, marinade overnight and pan fry the venison to seal on all sides before putting in a preheated oven at 180 for 8-12 minutes until cooked. Allow to rest well.

Reheat the venison in foaming butter by gently heating a knob of butter until it starts bubbling, but not burning. Slice, trim then carve in half and serve. Remember to carve the loin running with the grain of meat rather than against the grain.

Yorkshire Blue Cheese potatoes

Gently bring the cream to the boil with the crushed garlic and thyme leaves.

In a butter greased dish, layer the potatoes slices with the cream and thyme and crumble the Yorkshire Blue cheese between the layers of potato, leaving some for the top and cook at 180 for 30-40 mins until cooked.

Allow to cool slightly and then remove sliced portions from the dish and neatly trim before plating up.

Damson gin jelly

Bring the cranberry juice to the boil. Meanwhile soak the gelatine leaves in cold water and then squeeze dry once softened before adding to the cranberry juice, whisking in thoroughly. Add the shot of damson gin.

Line a plastic container with greaseproof paper and pour in the jelly mixture so it’s about 1cm deep. Cover the container and place in a fridge to set.

When ready to serve, turn it out and cut into small cubes.

Spinach puree

Plunge the spinach into a dish of boiling water, then refresh under a cold tap and puree in a blender with some melted butter or Yorkshire rapeseed oil and season with salt and a little nutmeg. Reheat to serve.

Cut the broccoli into small florets and blanch for a few minutes in boiling water, then run under a cold tap. Reheat before serving.

To Serve:

Place a slice of potatoes in the centre of the plate and position the venison Dukkah cylinder upright on the line of food. Serve the venison with a sticky jus reduced from the liquor used to cook the shoulder of venison. Garnish with wild garlic shoots and squares of damson gin jelly. Add small florets of broccoli and finish with another drizzle of sticky jus.

Sloe Sloe Quick Quick Sloe Gin
Ingredients

500g sloes
275g golden caster sugar
1 litre gin
2 cloves (1 per bottle)

Method

First pick your sloes when ripe and turning black. Give them a wash and pat dry with a clean tea towel.

There are two different methods you can follow when making your sloe gin. The first option is to prick each sloe berry several times with a pin (good luck with that!). A more preferable option is to freeze the sloes (this should take 6 hours or so) and once hard you can leave them to defrost. As the berries defrost, the skin will break itself which will save you hours trying to prick them all!

Next, divide the sloes between two demijohns or large bottles. Sprinkle equal amounts of sugar over the sloes in each bottle and add a clove.

Pour equal amounts of gin over the sloes and screw on the top, leaving a little room to shake the bottle. Aim to shake the bottles 3-4 times a week as this helps to infuse the sloes into the gin.

Store your gin and berries in the bottles for 3-4 months and then strain out the sloes and the cloves, leaving the gin a light purple colour.

The longer you leave the gin in the bottle the darker the gin will become, and the richer the flavour.

Turkey and Wensleydale Bacon Broth, Wensleydale Cheese Croute
Ingredients

Stock

1 turkey carcass
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 sticks of celery
2 bay leaves
alternatively you can buy good quality chicken or turkey stock

Broth

Cooked turkey breast and thigh meat, finely chopped with excess skin and fat removed
6 rashers of smoked Wensleydale back bacon, chopped
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
3 small carrots, peeled and finely chopped
4 sticks of celery, washed and finely chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and finely chopped
2 bay leaves
leaves from 1 medium sprig of thyme and rosemary, finely chopped
1 sweet potato (or 1 large potato) peeled and finely chopped (keep this in cold water until you need it or the potato will go brown)
100g pearl barley

Cheese croutes

2 slices white bread
80g grated Wensleydale cheese
2 tbsp olive oil

Method

For the stock, place all the ingredients together in a deep pan and cover with cold water, then bring to the boil. Simmer for 45 mins to extract the flavour from the carcass. Skim any grease or fat that rises to the top.

To make the broth, place the pearl barley in approx. 1 litre of cold water and boil until soft. Add a bay leaf and a pinch of salt. Rinse in a sieve under a warm tap until all the stickiness is removed.

Fry the bacon, onion, carrot, celery, and parsnips in some vegetable oil with the bay leaves and chopped herbs then add the stock and simmer until the vegetables are almost cooked. This will take approximately 10 minutes.

Finally add the sweet potato, the cooked pearl barley and the cooked turkey pieces.

To make the Wensleydale cheese croutes, cut out 4 circles from the 2 slices of bread using a pastry cutter and place them on a tray. Pour olive oil onto the bread circles and toast under a grill until brown. Place the Wensleydale cheese on top and grill again until toasted.

Place them to one side until you serve your broth.

To Serve:

Once the broth is hot and the turkey, bacon, pearl barley, vegetables and gin are all mixed together, ladle the broth into 4 warm soup bowls.

Float the cheese croutes on the top and serve with some crusty bread.

Get stuffed!
Ingredients

300g pork sausagemeat
1 onion, finely chopped
150g fruit for stuffing e.g. apricots, cranberries or plums
a handful of roughly chopped nuts e.g. chestnuts, pecans or pine nuts
3 rashers of bacon, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 egg
20g breadcrumbs
small bunch of herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage or tarragon – remove leaves from stalks and finely chop (discard the stalks, or in the case of rosemary and thyme, use these for making stock).

salt and pepper to season

optional splash of brandy

Method

Three options to excite the family with stuffing for the turkey – simply substitute your choice of fruit and nuts in the recipe below, depending on which option you prefer:

Cranberry and Pecan Stuffing

Apricot and Chestnut Stuffing

Plum and Toasted Pine Nut Stuffing

Sweat the onion and garlic cloves in a pan, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Add the onions and garlic to the pork sausagemeat, together with the chopped fruit, chopped nuts (or toasted pine nuts), chopped bacon, egg and breadcrumbs.

Mix it all together and add the seasoning.  Add a splash of brandy for a traditional turkey stuffing with a twist.

Stuff the turkey and then place it in the fridge until you are ready to put the bird in the oven!

Broach game for the first time
Ingredients

1 pheasant, plucked and oven ready
4 shallots, finely chopped
50g capers
50g gherkins, finely chopped
2 tbsp Heinz tomato ketchup
2 tsp Colman’s English mustard
4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

sesame seeded burger bun

crisp salad leaves

mayonnaise

crispy bacon

Method

A nice easy way to get on with game is to make burgers – the kids will love them and the ‘olds’ won’t be scared off either!

Makes 4

Remove the skin from the pheasant and the legs and breast from the carcass.  Blend the breast meat in a food processor for a few seconds until it is just broken up, but before it becomes like puree.

Remove the thigh meat and blend again.  The drumstick of a pheasant is full of fibres and bony bits, so I would recommend just making a game stock out of these instead!

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Form into burger patties.

Chill in the fridge for 20 mins and then pan fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. 

Check they are cooked through and serve with a sesame seeded burger bun, some crisp salad leaves, a generous blob of mayonnaise and if you really want to push the boat out, some crispy bacon.

Mince pies to thrill without much effort!
Ingredients

Pastry

480g of plain flour
240g unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp caster sugar
Splash of water

Mincemeat

Buy a good quality base mincemeat, then spice it up with some tangerine and lemon zest and a splash of brandy. If you want to add an extra kick, some homemade brandy cherries are also good chopped in, just remember to remove the stones! If you do not have any brandy cherries, ‘griottines’ are a good substitute – these are cherries marinated in Kirsch liquor and are available from good delis.

Method

These bitesize mince pies are full of flavour.

Make your mince pies before the Christmas festivities begin and freeze them so you can just warm them up when you need them.  This way you and the family will not overindulge on mince pies!

Makes 24

Combine the plain flour and unsalted butter and using your fingertips, rub together to make a breadcrumb mix. Add the caster sugar and the egg and mix in well. Form a dough ball with the mixture and allow to rest in the fridge for 10 mins before rolling.

Use a pastry cutter to create the mince pie bases and tops. A nice alternative is to use a star-shaped cutter to create a star of pastry for the top of each mince pie.

Grease and line two 12-hole shallow bun tins with the pastry for the base of the mince pies. Add a small spoon of mincemeat to the pasty bases.

Using some egg wash, seal the pastry tops onto the pies. Bake for 15 mins and allow to cool.

If you are going to freeze these, make sure you place greaseproof paper in between the layers so they do not get damaged.