At the end of last month, Mr GFB and I headed over to Colne Food Festival. We have a couple of friends who are involved in organising it, including the fabulous Ashley and gorgeous Riina, and though we missed it last year, this year we were determined not to.
This was despite the best efforts of the little blighter who pulled the emergency cord on the train in front of us and delayed us for half an hour.
As well as coming away full of fantastic samosas and pizza, we picked up some treacle bacon from the ever fabulous Bobby’s Bangers and we also came home with a haunch of wild venison from Scotland.
I considered roasting it, keeping it nice and pink, but then I had an idea. Juniper and venison are natural companions.
Juniper is in gin.
Hmm.
And as I stood in the kitchen and ogled the shelves the bottle of Greenall’s Sloe Gin winked at me.
Pot Roast Venison with Sloe Gin
Ingredients
900g/1kg venison joint
10g butter
1 Tablespoon oil (vegetable or sunflower)
3 rashers smoked bacon, diced
2 large carrots
2 large sticks of celery
1 large onion
150ml Sloe Gin
200ml Stock
1 Bouquet Garni
Seasoning
1 large crock pot/dutch oven/casserole dish with a lid.
Method
Heat the oil and butter in a pan until the butter foams and sear the venison joint in the pan.
Removed once browned on all sides, and add the bacon to the pan and cook through.
Then add the vegetables and cook until soft.
Pour in the gin and scrape the caramelised bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add in the bouquet garni and seasoning.
Add the meat back to the pan and then top with the stock.
Bring the liquid up to the boil, then fit the lid to the pan and leave for 30 – 45 minutes.
After this time, turn the meat over and again leave for 30 – 45 minutes.
Remove the meat, pop it on a plate and cover in foil to keep warm.
Then turn up the heat under the pot to reduce the sauce (you can, if you wish, remove the vegetables, but I just removed the bouquet garni and left the vegetables in).
Once the sauce has reduced and thickened, check for seasoning.
Slice the meat and serve.
It isn’t pretty, but it is clever.
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