Venison luxury, roasted slowly at a low heat.

Ingredients

• 1 fresh shoulder of deer – de-boned and bound.
• 750ml dry red wine
• 1 glass brown venison stock
• 1 diced carrot
• 2 medium onions, diced

Venison spices:

• 5-6 Juniper berries
• 6-8 Peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 twig of thyme
• 1 tablespoon of tomato purée
• 1 tablespoon of redcurrant jelly
• Some rapeseed oil for frying

For the honey pears:

• 3 large, ripe pears, cut into thick slices
• 25g butter
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• Some cinnamon powder
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 2 cl of Williams Birnengeist, or any pear liqueur

For the creamed savoy cabbage:

• 600g fresh savoy cabbage washed and cut into 3 cm leaves
• 1 finely chopped, medium-sized onion.
• 100ml crème fraiche
• Salt, pepper, grated nutmeg
• Some ground caraway seeds

Preparation

The shoulder of deer :

1. Fillet the deer shoulder removing the the shoulder blade and skin.
2. Reform the meat into its natural form and bind. If this process is too difficult or time-consuming, your butcher will be able to do this for you.
3. Season the deer shoulder with salt and pepper and place in a large frying pan with some oil and fry for a few minutes until the meat begins to brown.
4. Remove from frying pan.
5. Place the chopped vegetables in the frying pan and fry for 3-4 mins. on high.
6. Add the venison stock and red wine and allow to reduce for 10 minutes., then add the venison spices and deer shoulder.
7. Place in a pre-heated oven (80°-90°C) and leave to roast for 2 - 2½ hours
8. After roasting, test the deer shoulder, slice and place in aluminium foil to keep warm and succulent.

The sauce:

1. Strain the stock through a sieve, reducing the amount of sauce.
2. Add the red currant jelly and taste.

The cream and Savoy cabbage:

1. Fry the chopped onion in butter until glassy
2. Add the prepared Savoy cabbage.
3. Season with salt, pepper, grated nutmeg and ground caraway seeds, and add crème fraiche and 2 tablespoons of water.

The honey pears:

1. Add the honey and the pear slices to brown butter in a frying pan.
2. Add the Williams Birnengeist or pear liqueur and glaze for 34 minutes.

Serving suggestion

Cut the deer shoulder into 1cm-thick slices and pour on the cream, savoy cabbage and sauce.