A couple of months ago, Monkey Girl’s very generous father gave us a shoulder of frozen venison.
It was humungous. I popped it into the freezer and would open the door occasionally, stare at it, and then close the door again. It took me several weeks of deep breathing to build up my chi enough to tackle it.
I was keen to roast it, but was concerned that it would dry out too much. Most instructions say to roast it quickly and serve it rare, but my Pete is suspicious of game meats at the best of times, and he was never going to eat a barely cooked one.
So…I took a deep breath and adapted the Jamie Oliver lamb shoulder recipe that we’d made several times before. It worked a treat! I wrapped the venison in strips of streaky bacon and laid it in an oiled pan over two onions that had been cut into eighths. 100mls of water was added to the pan and then it was covered in a double layer of thick, oiled foil and baked at 175C (no fan) for four hours…
After four hours, I uncovered the pan and let it roast for a further 45 minutes until the bacon had crisped up. There were oodles of pan juices which Pete turned into a thin gravy…
The meat was incredibly dark and very tender. And despite how the photo below looks, it wasn’t dry at all. Between five of us (Monkey Girl stayed for dinner), we managed to eat half the shoulder. It was absolutely delicious – even Pete had seconds…
The following day, I turned most of the remaining meat into a pie filling, cooking it with peas, a little water and the remaining gravy. It was topped with our lard pastry, but the boys smashed it and I didn’t get a chance to take a photo. It looked like this, only without the stars…
As I was making the pie filling, I kept back 200g of the meat to make a barley soup on day three…
This came together very simply, using the few vegetables I had in the fridge and freezer…
- 200g roasted venison, chopped
- ½ cup pearl barley, washed
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 potato, peeled and chopped
- a handful of frozen peas
- 1 litre water
- 2 teaspoons Massel beef stock powder
- splash of Worcestershire sauce
- light olive oil
- salt and pepper
I fried the chopped onion, carrot and potato in a little light olive oil in our Emile Henry clay pot, then added the water and stock powder. The barley and venison was added, along with the Worcestershire sauce, and the pot was brought to a gentle boil for an hour or so. The frozen peas went in after the first half an hour or so of cooking. Once the barley had swollen, I seasoned with a little salt and pepper. I think this would work with other leftover roast meats as well. It was simple and very delicious!
. . . . .
Our venison shoulder fed us for three meals and not a scrap was wasted. It was a great treat to have such wonderful, healthy meat to cook with!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Your venison looks delicious! I love wild game for cooking/eating. I’ve never thought to try bacon with it, and I’ll definitely try it next time. Have a lovely weekend!
I like the way you meat dishes go a long way- with every scrap used.
We used to eat venison a lot in the UK but haven’t eaten it all here. I remember it being fantastic. Love how you used it.
Love the bacon idea and my hubbie loves barley so will try that for him..thank for sharing :)
I like the sound of all three meals and I think cooking the shoulder wrapped in streaky bacon was a terrific idea. I think I would also have been like you if someone handed me a shoulder of venison – I would have been wondering what to do with it! A great idea to turn left over roast into a family pie xx
I love the ideas and the economy in this. Will take it home so I can make this for my extended family in the UK at Christmas. Think it would be perfect for a celebration meal.
Very nice work on stretching this beast out, my friend. Did you boil up the bones for stock, too?
Love that you rose to the challenge so wonderfully and created 3 amazing meals! Big Man is also highly suspicious of game meat (not sure why)! I always used to cook my leg/shoulder of lamb rare but in recent years have converetd to the slow cooking method. Everyone is happy that way, even the rare meat lovers like me :)
Good meat makes all the difference :) You done it justice with lovely meals… and we’ve had the weather for it. (I’ve grabbed the opportunity and put one more round of lamb shanks and beef cheeks on the menu for this weekend/week)
I love when 1 meal can be worked into 3. Fabulous!
Have a beautiful weekend Celia.
:-) Mandy xoxo
I love how you repurposed the leftover meat! Looks delicious!
That large piece of venison was quite an undertaking. I’m in agreement with Pete that I’m not sure I would want to eat it rare, it looks delicious. Lucky you to have friends that would gift it to you.
A whole venison shoulder would be a real luxury here. We see steaks and sausages in the supermarkets, but not large joints. Independent butchers in this semi-rural area don’t stock that kind of thing, unfortunately. Your adaptation of the lamb recipe looks delicious!
Perfect. So well used and beautifully eaten! Its a bit like that sometimes with unusual ingredients. You dont want to waste them doing the wrong thing but you have to take the plunge.
Did you enjoy a glass of vino from your fabulous cellar with the slow cooked meal?
Yes! A 2000 Ashton Hills Obliqua (Cab Merlot blend) made by the fabulous Stephen George. From the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. It was a very good match! :)
I knew you would have a wee gem tucked away! That sounds fabulous! 🍷
It’s that pie that calls to me. I love menus for the week like this – I really relate to how you cook here because that’s exactly how I approach things….not that I’ve ever cooked a shoulder of venison (or likely to in the forseeable). Reading the wine match comments above and going off on a tangent. Have you tasted Stanton and Killeen Rutherglen Topaque? Good friends brought it from Australia – a juicy caramel delight of a dessert wine.
Sally yes! But not for ages – I used to drink it when it was known as a Tokay (a name they’re now no longer allowed to use). I used to be a big fan of Rutherglen fortifieds before discovering Portuguese VPs, and I still have some in the cellar. I’m going to pull out a bottle today now that you’ve reminded me! I have bottles of the Seppelts Show Muscat and Tokay, delicious drops. Hmmm. Looking at the cellar list, I also have some S&K vintage port! :) PS. If you have any leftover topaque, it’s delicious added to panfried mushrooms.
What a great idea to slow roast it like that Celia, especially for anyone not keen on rare or gamey meat. I’m so glad your family gobbled it up, but who could resist that crispy, crunchy pie crust? Yummo! Xo :)
I just love everything you make & do Celia.. Getting venison is not easy these days let alone any meat with prices so high. I found it’s worth buying bulk, making it and stretching it to go a long way! Much to learn from your wisdom lovely lady!
My word Celia this venison looks great and love how you put it through it’s paces :) Great idea with the streaky bacon – delicious! Jan x
I always slow roast a shoulder whatever the meat, though I can’t resist sloshing in a glass or two of wine, beer or cider as well. You should have made the pie with beetroot or tomatoes and called it Rudolph Pie.
Oh wow! Anything wrapped in streaky bacon is a win for me, and I love your dedicated approach to using every last bit and stretching that meat over several meals. That’s a passion for me. Just discovered your blog and am looking forward to having a nosy around– you have such a lovely, conversational writing style.
x Molly from Rye Humour
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the bacon wrapping trick but it certainly looks like it works well…plus who would ever argue with bacon flavor on anything? I think it looks nice and juicy.
You are so clever to make 3 meals out of this! Anything with bacon is good and I love that look of the pie! (It is such a problem to be able to take pics before all the food is eaten up – my family gets very impatient!)
Hi Celia, loved this recipe & am thinking of cooking for Xmas. Have never cooked venison before[though have had in restaurants & love it] My hubby is like Pete , would be reluctant to eat it rare. Approx what size was the shoulder you had? As most of the shoulders I have see have been about 2kg[Can you give me an idea on cooking time for this size please
Kerry
Kerry, I didn’t weigh it, I’m sorry so I don’t know. It was a frozen gift. As I said in post above, we slow roasted ours for over four hours.