Grapevine Stew Recipes

[dexterdoglancashire]

Lovely! I love a venison sausage and red wine casserole! DDL

[shirlthegirl43]

Rich Venison Casserole

1kg (2lb) stewing venison, trimmed and cut into cubes
150ml (1/4 pint) red wine
100ml (4 fl oz) vegetable oil
12 juniper berries, lightly crushed
4 cloves
8 black peppercorns
1 garlic clove, skinned and crushed
125g (4 oz) streaky bacon rashers, rinded
2 medium onions, skinned and sliced
30ml (2 level tbsp) lour
150ml (1/4 pint) beef stock
30ml (2 tbsp) redcurrant jelly
salt and pepper
chopped fresh parsley to garnish

1. Place the venison in a bowl and add the wine, half the oil, the juniper berries, cloves, peppercorns and garlic. Stir well and leave to marinate for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

2. Stretch each bacon rasher using a knife, cut in half and roll up. Heat the remaining oil in a flameproof casserole, add the bacon rolls and fry for about 3 minutes, until coloured. Remove from the casserole with a slotted spoon.

3. Remove the venison from the marinade and quickly fry the meat pieces in the casserole, in several batches, until coloured. Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.

4. Remove casserole from heat and gradualy stir in the stock, redcurrant jelly and the marinade. Bring to the boil slowly and cook, stirring, unil thickened. Return venison to casserole. Season and place bacon rolls on top.

5. Cover and cook in the oven at 170C (325F) gas 3 for 3 hours, until the venison is tender. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Serves 4

I haven't actually tried this recipe but everything else from the cook book is brilliant - have made a venison casserole which was very similar and was totally delicious. Don't be tempted to miss out the juniper berries as they give a wonderful flavour.

I would suggest serving with simple baked potatoes and steamed veg as you can then savour the flavour of the casserole.

Enjoy!!

[Sunbeam]

Pork Hock stew - V Cheap - V cheerful!

I buy pork hocks from the butcher �1.99 for two and enough meet for 4!

• brown hocks in a pan with onions, garlic and celery,
• add a handful of dried apricots and some water/stock.
• Bung a lid on and leave in a lowish oven for 3-4 hours -
• strip the meat from the bones when it is at the falling off stage.
• Blitz the juice, apricots, onions and all and return to the pan.
• Add some peeled spuds and chunks of carrot and cook through,
• add the meat back to the pan & warm again

-

eat in a bowl - a super cheap, very yummy, all in one meal!

[kirsty b]

I tend to make up big pans of stuff, eat some and freeze the rest in two person portions to bring out over the next few weeks. Nice and quick after a busy day and gives us a bit more variety over the week. Mind you have loads of chicken stock in the freezer at the moment so will have to get some out to make some good hearty soup now the weather is so cold - can eat it with some fresh bread from my new breadmaker too! Perhaps we should start a favourite soup recipe as well as the stew one!

Just reading this thread again for the first time in a few weeks and I have to agree with Mrs D about OH not eating something 2 days running. He's ok if its been frozen because I often freeze stuff to pull out of the freezer for when we're skint or feeling lazy.
As for chicken soup, I have got into the habit of making soup whenever we have a chicken, but the minute my daughter cops on to the fact that I have some on the go, thats all she wants to eat for every mealtime! So not very much gets saved.
Have printed off a few more recipes to go into my now bulging folder of things to try!

Kirsty

[madderbat]

The only thing is I can never make the P/M taste the same twice

Hi there, bit late on this one, but I used to have the same problem until I started writing down a particularly good mess in a Holly Hobbie book my dear Mother gave me one Christmas. It was a bit embarrassing but it kept the recipes well until i lost it in a move. Now I just do things from experience.

My stew is bog simple: shin beef, one potato, one parsnip, one onion, one carrot, plus a small amount of swede. Cube and flour meat, then fry, add diced onion, cover with water and throw in diced veg. Add as many herbs as you like - parsley, bay, thyme and my fave of the moment, Cretan Rigani (oregano) salt and pepper. Bring to boil then simmer for as long as possible. (1-2 hour depending on how big the bits of meat are.) Add dumplings 15 mins before serving.
Quantities will feed two or four depending on how hungry/greedy the family. Chuck in more veg to make it go futher.
You can add gravy browning for colour, but if you fry the meat well it goes brown anyway.
Yummy

[madderbat]

chicken soup - how could I forget!

This is one of my favourite 'heal-all' meals
chicken carcass (or one quarter portion)
one each potato, onion, carrot, swede, parsnip etc (as for beef stew) small handful pearl barley, herbs, salt and pepper.
Boil carcass for a bit, extract bones and pick meat off. Add veg and herbs and boil for a bit, add pearl barley, then simmer for as long as you like.
mash it a bit and serve with crusty bread to dip.
Again will feed up to four people, add more veg to make it go further.
Yum

[john.tate]

hii lesley Cawl was a great feed I had a few chillies in mine it went down a treat two mates helped finished it off, sorry I let them try as they are looking forward for more. thanks for recipe. j.tate

[Snadger]

Ok, confession time, I'm a cr*p cook, but I know what I like!

My Gran used to make these fried dumplings which were a meal on there own, crunchy on the outside and 'buttery' tasting on the inside! Anyone any idea of what was in them? I would imagine flour and butter but no idea what else?
I remember having them with broth and even with bacon and eggs!

[supersprout]

No.1 son loves rabbit! We're lucky enough to have game available at the local market for most of the year - a choice of wild or farm bred I'm writing him an 'Enquire Within about Everything' book, which includes our favourite rabbit stews.

There's usually enough for two meals on consecutive days, with up to four portions left over for freezing. All of them taste better reheated on Day 2

Stifatho

2 large or three small rabbits, jointed
1 bottle cheap red wine
2 bay leaves
Cinnamon stick
2 tbs red wine vinegar
Up to 1 cup olive oil
1 kg pickling onions or shallots, whole and peeled
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all except oil into a casserole, lid on, in a slack oven (140C) for three or four hours (or in the slow cooker). At the end of the cooking time, strain off cooking liquid and reduce by violent boiling. Meanwhile, remove all the bones from the rabbit. Add reduced cooking liquid to the rabbit and onions, and glug on as much oil as you like - the oil and cooking liquid should semi-amalgamate like a vinaigrette. There should be plenty of it to be absorbed by hunks of bread.

Also nice with beef (skirt or shin) - about 1kg should be right.

Cream and Mushroom

2 large or three small rabbits, jointed
Cheap white wine
Butter
Flour for dusting
Two large handsful, or one handful of two varieties: dried morel mushrooms (reconstituted), dried porcini mushrooms (reconstituted), fresh button mushrooms. Slice or leave whole as you prefer.
Creme Fraiche - 1 small tub
Salt and pepper to taste

Gently brown floured joints in butter, add white wine and strained mushroom soak juice to cover, add mushrooms. Simmer on lowest heat on the stove, lid on, for 1-1 1/2 hours. At the end of the cooking time, strain off cooking liquid and reduce by violent boiling. Meanwhile, remove all the bones from the rabbit. Add reduced cooking liquid, and creme fraiche, salt and pepper to taste.

To flour joints without mess, put flour, salt and pepper into a plastic bag. Put in joints one at a time, hold bag closed, and shake. Remove floured joint and put in the next until they are all done.

Jugged

2 large or 3 small rabbits
Cheap red wine (1 bottle)
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 bulb garlic, sliced horizontally
Pot herbs - thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, parsley or whatever takes your fancy
Butter for browning the joints
Pancetta or bacon (about 6 rashers of thick cut bacon)

Marinade rabbit joints overnight in red wine, carrot, onion, celery, garlic and pot herbs.

Take joints out of marinade, dry and stew lightly in butter with some pancetta or bacon until they are releasing their fat, but don't brown them. In the meantime, boil up the marinade for ten minutes in a large pot. Strain hot marinade over rabbit. Put all into a casserole, lid on, and stew gently in a slack oven (140C) for three or four hours (or in the slow cooker). At the end of the cooking time, strain off cooking liquid and reduce in a shallow pan by violent boiling. Meanwhile, remove all the bones from the rabbit. *Add reduced cooking liquid to rabbit meat, add salt and pepper to taste. Lovely with new potatoes.

If you want a thicker sauce, at * rub together butter and flour into small 'knobs' and add slowly to the sauce until you get the consistency you want. The sauce will go glossy and thick. Then proceed with recipe.

[JennieAtkinson]

Thanks for those Supersprout - we eat quite a bit of rabbit. Nice to have a change from HFW Rabbit Burgers!

[Poledragon]

Have pencilled rabbit onto the shopping list. All depends if DH is successful when he goes out tomorrow night with our local gamekeeper for a spot of 'lamping'. At least we know its fresh!

Will definitely be giving the stifatho a go, as I love cooking with wine. And yes, I sometimes even put it in the food...

[supersprout]

Ooh lucky you Poledragon, with a free supply on your doorstep!
Does he skin them for you too?

[JennieAtkinson]

We have free supplies too!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Trying to get fresh rabbit around Preston is like finding rocking horse droppings! The only place I know of the local farmers market at Houghton Tower on the 3rd Sunday in the month. If anyone knows anywhere else in the Preston area do let me know! DDL

[Lesley Jay]

Our butcher supplies them - the price is ridiculous �9 each!!