Venison Bourguignon

A hearty, rich dish that makes the most of quality Sambar backstrap.

Slow-cooked with red wine and aromatic herbs, this classic French-inspired recipe is perfect for sharing around the campfire or a cozy dinner at home.

Thank you to Ben Maas for sending in this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2kg quality backstrap (Sambar preferred)

• 750 ml red wine (Pinot Noir recommended)

• 5 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 onion, chopped

• 3 diced tomatoes

• 2 large carrots, chopped

• 3 sticks celery, chopped

• 2 large parsnips, chopped

• 250 grams bacon, diced

• 250 grams Swiss Brown mushrooms

• 350 grams French shallots (small red onion)

• 3 sticks fresh rosemary

• Bunch of fresh Italian parsley

• 10 whole cloves

• 15 whole black peppercorns

• 5 dried bay leaves

• 100 grams butter

• 3 tablespoons plain flour

• 300 ml beef stock

Method

Cut the backstrap into 2-inch cubes, trimming any excess fat or silver skin. Place in a large bowl with wine, garlic, rosemary, parsley, cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Marinate for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.

Preheat oven to 160°C (315°F).

Remove the meat from the marinade, reserving the liquid. Pat the meat dry with paper towels. In a large casserole dish, heat butter and sauté onion, carrot, tomatoes, parsnip, and celery until softened. Remove from heat.

In a separate fry pan, shallow-fry the meat in butter in small batches until browned. Avoid overcrowding the pan to prevent stewing. Add the browned meat to the casserole dish.
Fry the bacon and mushrooms in butter until cooked. Add to the casserole dish.
Pour the reserved marinade into the fry pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir to deglaze the pan, extracting all the flavours.
Sprinkle flour over the ingredients in the casserole dish and mix well. Add the marinade and beef stock, stirring through. Cook in the oven for 1.5 to 2 hours until the sauce thickens and reduces. Lower the heat if boiling too hard.
Enjoy with thick, crusty bread.