Chris Galvin started in a small neighbourhood restaurant as a pot washer for Antony Worrall-Thompson, with his brother Jeff starting his career at The Savoy Hotel as a young Commis Chef. Since teaming up together in 2005, they haven’t looked back. Galvin at The Athenaeum is a top London restaurant and the brothers have now stepped away from their trademark French-inspired menus in favour of championing Britain’s delicious homegrown produce and supporting independent farmers across the UK. We are lucky to have this delicious Daube of Venison with Quince and Chestnuts for you to try at home.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 5kg shoulder of venison, sinew removed
- 500ml red wine
- 250ml port
- 2 large carrots, cut into 6cm pieces
- 2 onions, each cut in half
- 1 stick celery, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 juniper berries
- 3 white peppercorns
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 75ml olive oil
- 100g plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 2 litres Brown Chicken Stock
- 50g trompette mushrooms
- 10g Clarified Butter
- 12 chestnuts, roasted and skinned
- sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
- chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
For the quince
- 100g caster sugar
- 200ml water
- 1 lemon
- 1 quince
Method
- Put the venison, wine, port, vegetables, garlic and spices together in a non metallic dish.
- Tie the thyme, bay and rosemary together with string and add to the dish. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.
- Drain the meat, vegetables, spices and herbs, reserving the meat, vegetables and marinating liquor separately.
- Pour half the olive oil into a heavy-based ovenproof pan and heat until almost smoking, then add the reserved vegetables and cook until caramelised.
- Dust the venison in the seasoned flour, add a little more olive oil to the pan and seal the meat all over. Stir in the tomato purée and allow it to cook a little with the meat.
- Remove the meat to a colander to drain, carefully pour the red wine and port from the marinade into the pan and cook until reduced a little, then add the chicken stock and return to the boil.
- Skim off any excess fat or scum that rises to the surface, add a little salt to taste and then return the venison to the pan.
- Cover the pan with a lid, transfer it to an oven preheated to 110°C/Gas Mark ¼ and cook for 2 ½ –3 hours or until the venison is tender.
- Meanwhile, cook the quince. Put the sugar and water in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Juice the lemon into a small bowl. Peel the quince and place it in the lemon juice, tossing to prevent discoloration.
- Cut the quince into quarters lengthwise, remove the core and seeds, then cut each quarter length wise into 3 to create 12 wedges.
- Add the quince wedges and lemon juice to the sugar syrup and bring to the boil, then cover the mixture with a cartouche (a circle of greaseproof paper) and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Poach the quince for 6 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Remove the venison from the oven and leave to cool. Take the venison out of the pan and divide into 4 pieces. If the sauce is too thin, boil until slightly reduced and thickened, then pass through a fine sieve back over the meat.
- Just before serving, gently reheat the meat and sauce together. Heat the clarified butter in a pan, add the trompette mushrooms and toss for1 minute, then season and drain on kitchen paper. Keep the mushrooms warm.
- Reheat the quince if necessary and then remove from the syrup with a slotted spoon. Put the chestnuts in an oven preheated to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for 1 minute to heat through.
- To serve, put the venison on 4 serving plates, then scatter over the mushrooms, chestnuts and quince. Spoon over the sauce and garnish with a sprinkling of parsley.
