Venison in white wine

Mrs Bennet’s haunch of venison shows her guests that she has friends with a deer park and a good cook who knows the trick – a our and water paste – to keep it moist as it roasted on the spit. Even without these advantages, we can enjoy this simple and deeply savoury recipe for ‘a piece of Stag’s Flesh’.

700g cubed stewing venison (or use boned leg or shoulder and cut it into chunks)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 thick rashers streaky bacon

bottle white wine

150ml stock or water

tsp grated nutmeg

2– 3 bay leaves

Bouquet garni

Couple of pieces of lemon zest, pith removed Beurre manié: 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp flour blended to a paste

1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed

Season the meat with pepper and very li! le salt.

Chop the bacon into lardons and fry until the fat runs, then add the venison and brown all over (don’t stir too much, let the surfaces get rich and sticky).

Add the white wine, stock or water, nutmeg, herbs, and the lemon zest, bring to a boil, cover it, and simmer for 1–1½ hours, adding a li!le more water if it’s drying up.

If the sauce is too thin, thicken it with the bu!er and #our paste. Remove the lemon zest and herbs, add the capers and let it carry on cooking for a minute or two.

Serve with French beans and bu!ery mashed potato.

To dress Venison in a Ragoo: Take a piece of Stag’s Flesh, or other Venison, lard it with large Lardons of Bacon, well seasoned with Salt and Pepper, fry it in Lard, or toss it up in a Sauce- pan with melted Bacon; then boil it for three or four Hours in an earthen Pan with Broth or Water, and some Whitewine, seasoned with Salt, Nutmeg, two or three Bay-leaves, a Piece of green Lemon, and a Faggot of sweet Herbs: Thicken the Sauce with Flour, or bind it with a good Cullis, and when you serve it up to Table, add Lemonpeel and Capers.

From The Cooks And Confectioners Dictionary, 1723, by John No .