Pan-fried Venison with parsley polenta and red wine sauce

Although most game is a concern of the Autumn and Winter months, there are certain wild meats that can be enjoyed all year round. Wood Pigeon is great at this time of year, as is my old buddy-pal Thumper. A freshly killed Rabbit flashed above the hot coals of a barbecue is a rare treat. The venison season for certain species of deer can start as early as July (Red deer stags) and finish at the beginning of May (Fallow bucks), so the season isn't quite as brief as one might expect. Truly wild Venison can be trickier to find in the summer months, although farmed is readily available all year round. This recipe works equally well with beef. Serves 4.

4 Venison steaks

150g Quick cook polenta

1 Litre Chicken stock, plus an extra 150ml for the red wine sauce

100g Mature Cheddar cheese, grated

2 Garlic cloves, finely grated

A handful of flatleaf parsley leaves

A splash of red wine

3 Juniper berries

Olive oil

1 Cook the polenta according to the pack instructions, then stir in the Cheddar, garlic, parsley and season to taste.

2 Heat a splash of olive oil in a non-stick pan (you can cook the meat on the BBQ if the sun's out). Season the venison steaks, then sear for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the meat onto a plate to rest. 

3 De-glaze the pan with a generous slosh of red wine, then add the remaining 150ml of stock and the juniper berries. Keep the sauce on a quick bubble, until it has reduced and has thickened nicely.

4 To plate up, slice the venison steaks and arrange on top of a plate of polenta. Spoon over the red wine sauce and serve with a few sprigs of fresh parsley.

Ghillie before the hunt

Venison goulash pie with cucumber salad

Venison goulash pie

450g diced venison shoulder

1 Onion, thinly sliced

6 Juniper berries, crushed

1tsp Caraway seeds

1 Bay leaf

200g Button mushrooms

600ml Game or beef stock

2tbsp Smoked paprika

Salt and pepper

Shortcrust pastry

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Toss venison with a liberal sprinkle of plain flour.

Brown the meat in a hot pan, spoon onto a plate and set aside. Add a little olive oil to

the pan, then gently soften the onions with the juniper berries,

caraway seeds and bay leaf. Add the venison back to the pan, spoon in

the paprika and stir through for a few minutes before adding the

stock. Season, then simmer on a low heat for just under 2 hours; after which

the stock will have reduced, thickened and the meat will be tender. Pour goulash into a pie dish.

Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to about 5mm thick. Using a rolling pin, carefully drape the

pastry lid on top of the pie dish. Trim off any excess, gently press a fork around the edge and brush

with beaten egg (it's also a good idea to make a small hole in the middle to release any steam too).

Bake pie for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Cucumber salad

1 Cucumber

2tbsp Olive oil

2tbsp White wine vinegar

1/2tsp Sugar

Dill fronds, roughly torn

Salt and pepper

Peel the cucumber, then finely slice with a mandolin slicer (use a potato

peeler as a slicer if you haven't got a mandolin; it's a bit fiddly,

but still works). Stir in the oil, vinegar and sugar. Season, then mix

in the dill fronds.

Beware the friendly stranger

 With a flourish of deranged abandon, a crazed pheasant flung itself across the windscreen of the car last night. My initial horror at its scant regard for the Highway Code was quickly replaced by the need to inspect the rear view mirror; both for signs of a jam sandwich in our wake, and the glint of steel in the shadows.

 As times get harder and the cost of food rises, poaching is becoming increasingly common throughout the countryside and urban fringes. Dorset police have reported cases of bread and jam being used to lure unsuspecting deer in front of cars; with subsequent, vehicle-dispatched venison stolen into the night after motorists leave the scene.

 In acknowledging the genuine seriousness of the situation, it’s hard not to be sidetracked by flickers of surrealism. Jam sandwich bait? It’s almost cartoon-like in its conception, as if Wile E. Coyote has been brought in as a consultant. A silhouetted figure leafing through the pages of a well-thumbed ‘Acme Poacher’s Compendium’, thin spirals of cigarette smoke twisting through low branches. Trout, hare, chickens, pheasants and (almost as bizarrely) bees, the rise in poaching is a reflection of the times - one that dustily echoes much older ways of life.

 Game abounds at the village butcher. I’m busy contemplating the venison steaks when a quietly spoken exchange at the far end of the shop spills into laughter. “Don’t bring too many in, I’ll never shift ‘em” smirks the man in bloodstained white, his acquaintance nodding in agreement before trudging up the high street. The butcher knows I’m onto him, there’s a shimmer of malevolence in his eyes as he slides my venison across the counter. That, or he forgot to take an antihistamine this morning. It’s hard to tell really. I grab a box of farm eggs and faux-nonchalantly enquire about the locality of his wild meat. “We get allsorts in ‘ere, I’ve a man who helps me out – clean shot to the head is the best way.” Heading back to the car, it’s still not clear if he was referring to the deer or those who ask too many questions.

 A handful of raisins and chips in a paper cone feel like an appropriate, Dahl-inspired addition to my game stew, the former swelling gently as they simmer away in the thick sauce. Hazy memories of the ‘Danny the Champion of the World’ school of poaching seem a million miles away in this day and age; poaching is a lucrative and large-scale business. Watch out for preserve-laden snacks in the headlights.

Posted on bbcgoodfood.com 14th September 2009