Lockdown Recipe of the Day: All-Day Venison

All-Day Venison, from foodSTUFF by Tony Jackman (Human & Rousseau). Photo by Myburgh du Plessis, styled by Sarah Dahl Batten down the hatches ahead of the looming cold front, and get this hearty pot stewing to fortify you against the winter chill. This slow-food recipe is suitable for any […]
Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tbs olive oil
1 x 410 g can chopped tomatoes
1 x 410 g can braai relish (chopped tomatoes and onions with chilli)
1 large glass dry white wine
1–3 Tbs apple jelly (or similar)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Splash of sherry (or port)
Salt and pepper to taste
800 g lean venison, cut into small cubes
handful parsley leaves (stems removed), finely chopped
1 Tbs cornflour
2 Tbs milk
Method
Whether you’re in the Hantam Karoo, the Klein Karoo or the Moordenaars Karoo, if you don’t hunt game you need a mate who does – someone who lives on a farm or shoots buck in the wild to sell the fine meat to fancy restaurants. Once in a while, they will pop by to hand you a bag with something intriguing in it. A haunch of warthog, a loin of takbok (fallow deer), or a quartet of springbok shanks. This is a more-or-less recipe for whatever venison has been bestowed on you. Cut into small pieces and treat in the way the French and Italians do, which means cooked slowly forever at a bashful temperature.
Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until lightly golden. Add the cans of tomato and braai relish, wine, apple jelly, coriander, turmeric, Worcestershire sauce and sherry. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the cubed meat and stir to coat. Add the chopped parsley. Bring back to a very gentle simmer, cover, and allow to burble away for several hours. This needs to be very ‘stewy’, with the meat disintegrating so that it almost becomes one with the developing sauce.
About an hour before it’s likely to be ready, stir the cornflour and milk together until no lumps remain, then add a little at a time to the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon. Cover again and allow to simmer until done.
Serve with buttery mashed potato. DM/TGIFood
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This recipe is adapted from one first published in Tony Jackman’s book, foodSTUFF (Human & Rousseau)