Venison Ragu

Recipe Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

1kg boneless venison haunch or shoulder, cut into chunks
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
175g pancetta, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, peeled & chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves, sprig of thyme, sprig of rosemary tied with string
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp tomato purée
250ml red wine
500ml beef stock
⅓ jar Mrs Bridges Cranberry Sauce with Port
plain flour, salt & pepper
handful of chopped parsley to garnish

pappardelle or tagliatelle pasta to serve

Print Recipe

Follow The Recipe

Add a few tbsps plain flour to a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.

Coat the venison pieces in the seasoned flour, and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a heavy casserole pan and fry the pieces of meat in batches - allowing the meat to caramelise.

Next, fry the pancetta and set aside.

Deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine and set the liquid aside.

Add more olive oil to the pan (medium heat) and add the onions. Soften until translucent.

Then add the celery the carrots and allow to sweat a little.

Add the dried spices.

The tomatoes and tomato purée, and then the pieces of cooked venison.
Combine all together before adding the cranberry sauce, red wine, stock and the bouquet of herb and stir again. Bring up to the boil.

Cook with the lid on for minimum 4 hours and simmer until meat is tender and falls apart. Add a little more stock or wine if required. Remove the lid for the last 30 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.

Serve with al dente pappardelle or tagliatelle pasta, and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Print Recipe