Venison casserole

June 18, 2008 (Last Updated: January 11, 2019)
Venison casserole recipe

Game is becoming increasingly easier to find and is such an appealing alternative to mass-farmed domestic animals. I used impala, but springbok or kudu also work well.

Cook’s tips:
• Potato gnocchi lightly tossed in sage butter, sprinkled with Parmesan and flat-leafed parsley gives the casserole a delicious Italian twist.
• Instead of gnocchi, top the casserole with a puff pastry lattice blanket. Cut puff pastry into 3cm strips and weave a blanket to fit your pot. Paint with lightly beaten egg and bake separately until golden and crispy on an oiled baking tray at 200°C. Slide it onto the casserole and serve with rice.

Recipe by Jenny Crwys-Williams

Venison casserole

Serves: 12
Cooking Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

  • 125ml cake flour
  • salt, freshly ground black pepper and paprika, to taste
  • 1,8kg venison, off the bone and cut into 1½cm cubes
  • olive and sunflower oil, for frying
  • 4 large onions, roughly chopped
  • ground nutmeg, to taste
  • ground cloves, to taste
  • 2 cubes chicken stock, crumbled
  • 60ml fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 500g streaky bacon, diced
  • 125ml chutney
  • 15ml Worcestershire sauce
  • 15ml balsamic vinegar
  • 15ml soy sauce
  • chilli jam or sauce, to taste, optional
  • 750ml water
  • butter, for frying
  • 200g button mushrooms

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

2

Combine the flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a bowl. Dust the meat in the flour and shake off any excess.

3

Heat the oil in a cast-iron pot and fry the meat in batches until nicely browned. Set aside.

4

Using the same pot, add a little more oil if necessary and fry the onion. Return the meat to the pot.

5

Add the nutmeg, cloves, chicken stock, parsley, bacon, chutney, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and chilli jam or sauce, if using.

6

Mix well and add the water to make a slushy mixture. Cover the pot and bake in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until brown and tender, about 1 hour.

7

Heat the butter in a frying pan and lightly sear the mushrooms. Sprinkle on top of the casserole and serve with gnocchi and sage butter.

Notes

To drink: Venison is so South African, let’s pair it with a good pinotage from Allée Bleue 2006.

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