Hunter's Venison (France)
 

 Gigot de Chevreuil Grand Veneur

Marinade:
3 1/4 pound haunch of venison
3 1/2 ounces fat bacon, cut in strips
pepper
salt
1 bottle white wine
1 leek, sliced
2 shallots, sliced
1 bay leaf
12 crushed peppercorns
3-4 parsley sprigs
1 celery stalk, sliced
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons oil

Sauce Venaison:
Vs onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
y/i tablespoons flour
thyme
bay leaf
1 tablespoon tomato paste
salt
freshly ground pepper
6 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons red currant jelly
 

Lard the meat by making incisions with a sharp knife and inserting the strips of bacon. (If you prefer, slices of bacon
may be tied around the meat just before roasting.) Marinate the venison in a mixture of wine and herbs. Meat from doe deer needs to marinate only about 3 hours, that of fallow deer for 24 hours. Dry the meat carefully, heat some of the butter and the oil, quickly brown the meat on all sides, then lower the heat and cook until tender, adding a little more butter and oil from time to time.
Count on a cooking time of 25 minutes per pound of meat. It should remain faintly pink.
Meanwhile make the sauce.

Sauce Venaison: Brown the onion and carrot in 3 tablespoons butter in a casserole. Stir in flour and cook until light brown.
Heat the strained marinade to the boiling point in a separate pan. Pour hot marinade into butter-flour mixture and stir constantly. Bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper, herbs, and tomato paste. Simmer, skim, and reduce sauce to about 11/'2cups.

Strain. Add cream and red currant jelly.
Pour some of the sauce over the venison and serve the rest separately. The usual accompaniments for this classical dish
are potato rissoles (made of firm potato puree, shaped into cork-like forms, rolled in fine bread crumbs and deep-fried), chestnut puree, and a compote of red currants or red currant jelly.
 

Traditional Polish Hunters' Stew
 

Bigos

Cut into a very large dice 4 to 6 pounds of cooked meats, using any or all of the following: 4 to 6 pounds roast beef or pot roast, roast lamb, roast pork, venison or rabbit, chicken or duck, ham, Polish sausage, or roast veal
2 yellow onions, peeled and chopped
1/4 pound salt pork, diced and browned
2 tablespoons flour
3 quarts sauerkraut
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sautéed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup dry red wine

Cut the meat into very large dice.
Cook the onions in the fat from the salt pork until limp.
Add the flour, and blend well.
Stir in the sauerkraut and mushrooms,
Add all the diced meats, including the salt pork, and the salt, pepper, and sugar.
Simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
Add the wine, boil up once, and remove from the heat. Keep the pot covered until you are ready to serve.

Traditionally so much time was spent in preparing this dish that one is not expected to eat it on the first day. It keeps for
several days in your refrigerator, and it is much better heated up.

serves 10 to 12.