Braised Venison
Low and Slow Is the Only Way to Do Wild Game Justice
If you harvested it yourself, it deserves better than a weeknight pan sear. This bacon-braised venison slow-cooks in red wine and beef broth with onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and thyme until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. Jones Dairy Farm Dry Aged Bacon builds the flavor foundation, rendering down in the dutch oven before the vegetables and venison ever hit the pan. Serve it over creamy parmesan polenta for a dinner that tastes like it took all day — because it did, and it was worth every minute.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Jones Dairy Farm Dry Aged Cherrywood Smoked Extra Thick Bacon
- 1 1/2 cups onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 16 ounce venison neck or shank
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup flour, divided
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 sprigs thyme
- Cheesy Polenta:
- 1 cup polenta
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
Cut bacon into 1/4-inch pieces. In dutch oven, or high-sided, ovenproof sauté pan, cook bacon on medium-low until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside.
Season venison with salt and pepper and dust with all but 1 tablespoon flour. Place in pan with bacon fat over medium heat and brown on all sides. Remove venison from pan; add vegetables and cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining tablespoon of flour to pan and mix; cook for 1 minute. Add red wine and reduce by quarter. Add beef stock, garlic, thyme and venison back to pan. Bring to a simmer; cover and place in 350ºF oven for 2 to 3 hours or until fork tender.
For the Polenta:
Bring chicken stock to a boil in medium sauce pan. Whisk in polenta and reduce to simmer. Cook for 30 minutes stirring occasionally making sure polenta doesn’t stick to bottom of pan. To finish, add cheese and butter and season with salt and pepper.
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A+
This was excellent! My husband gave me an A+ for this dinner.