Uncle Rasberry's Venison and Sausage Stew

This stew is very rich, delicious and easy, but it takes a little planning
because you have to make a cooked marinade first and it must be cool before you put the venison into it. However, you can make the marinade quite a long time in advance (a week or more), as it keeps very well in the fridge.

The marinade recipe is from the American household classic, The Joy of Cooking -- the measurements don't have to be fantastically precise so just use a not quite-full mug if you haven't got a cup measure in the house (teacups are too small).

COOKED MARINADE FOR GAME (enough for 4 or 5 small venison steaks - make more marinade if you've got a lot more meat)

(15 minutes' prep, 1 hour 15 minutes cooking time, plus time to cool.)

In a saucepan, warm 3/4 cup vegetable oil.

Add
Generous half cup chopped onions
Half a cup chopped celery
Half cup chopped carrots

and fry (stirring occasionally) until the onions are golden brown.

Then add

1.5 cups vinegar (made from wine, cider or sherry, or a combination)
1 cup water
Half cup chopped fresh parsely
2 bay leavs
1 tablespoon dried thyme (more if it's fresh)
1 tablespoon dried basil (don't use fresh)
1 tablespoon cloves
1 tablespoon allspice OR juniper berries, if you have them pinch of mace
1 tablespoons crushed peppercorns (crush with a pestle and mortar or the butt of a kitchen knife)
3 crushed cloves of garlic

Simmer for one hour. Strain and cool. Keep in fridge if you're not
starting straight away.

NB - if you just want to fry venison steaks, marinate them for 24 hours in
this, in the fridge. Delicious! Only throw away the marinade once you've
taken the steaks out.

STEW

1. Put enough venison for however many people you're serving into the
marinade in a shallow dish. We used one steak per person, but you could
also use cubed meat. Marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably in the
fridge, turning meat occasionally.

2. Heat the oven to Gas Mk 4 / 350 degrees F.

3. In a heavy casserole dish, put a generous dollop of good olive oil
and fry 1 chopped onion over a medium heat until translucent, stirring well.

4. Add the venison steaks or cubes and brown on all sides (save the
marinade).

5. Add good quality sausages, at least 1 per person, more if you're a
little short on venison. We used wild boar sausages; heavily herbed ones,
like Toulouse sausages, would also be nice.

Don't let the sausages brown or they won't be as tender.

6. Add the marinade to the pan immediately (not all of it, if you've
made more than the amount in the recipe above) and top up with cheap red wine
so that the meat and onions are covered and gently floating. Sprinkle on about one tablespoon of soft brown sugar salt.

Bring to the boil, put on the lid and put the casserole into the oven.

7. Cook for at least 2 hours, preferably more. Turn the heat down to
Gas Mk 3 after 2 hours, though. About half an hour before serving, quarter a good handful of closed-cap mushrooms and fry them for about 10 minutes in about half an ounce of butter, with a butter paper over them to keep the moisture in. Add to the casserole and allow to cook with the meat for the last 20 minutes.

8. Adjust seasonings and sweetness (your marinade may be more or less
sour, depending what kind of vinegar you've used) and serve, making sure
everyone gets at least one steak and one sausage. The flavourings from the
marinade and sausages make a delicious gravy.

This stew goes very well with savoy cabbage, shredded, cooked and mixed
with butter, horseradish and seasonings.

(This recipe comes from Auntie Brain and Uncle Rasberry, which are Joe's attempts at the names Leoni and Rhodri)