How to make venison loin, braised venison and nettle Wellington with game gravy 1. For the pastry, sift the flour and salt and rub in 50g of the butter. Make a well in the sandy mix and add the water. Mix together until you have a dough consistency. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, roll out the remaining butter between two sheets of baking parchment. It should have a thickness of about 3mm. Cut a cross in the top of the dough, all the way across and half the way through. Pull out each section of the dough to form a star shape. Place the rolled butter into the middle and fold the edges into the centre to form a parcel. Refrigerate again for 15-20 minutes. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18mm thick. Fold each side in to meet in the middle, then fold in half (one double turn) then chill for 15 minutes. Repeat this twice more. Allow to rest before use.
For the gravy, heat the butter in the pan, caramelise the shallots and mushrooms, then strain. Heat the remaining butter in another pan and caramelise the venison trim until golden brown. Deglaze the pans with the vinegar. In a separate pan, reduce the wine by half. Add the stock and the remaining ingredients; reduce to a sauce consistency and strain.
For the pancakes, sift the flour, add the egg, yolk, milk and nettles to the mixture and whisk until smooth. Fold in the butter. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes or preferably overnight. Heat the 1 tsp sunflower oil in a non-stick pan. Pour in enough batter for your desired thickness of pancake. Cook on both sides until golden.
For the venison haunch, preheat the oven to 120C/240/Gas mark ½. Trim the venison of any sinews and cut into 2cm cubes. Heat a small amount of sunflower oil in a frying pan, fry the cubes until a rich brown seal is achieved. Remove the meat from the pan and then use the same pan to colour the carrot, onion, leek, garlic and celery. Add the thyme to infuse into the oil. Remove the vegetables and then pour in the port and wine to deglaze. Reduce the wine and Port by half and then pour into an ovenproof dish with the remaining ingredients and cover with tin foil. Braise in the oven for 8 hours.
Take the meat out of the braising liquor and when cool enough to handle, shred with a fork. Pass the braising liquor through a fine sieve, skim off any fat with a ladle and then reduce the liquid to 100ml. Mix the stock back through the shredded meat and the roll into a tight log in cling film and then allow to set in the fridge 1-1 ½ hours 6. For the Wellington, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 3mm on a floured surface. Cut to a rectangle about 125 x 175mm. Cut down a pancake to 10 x 15mm. Place atop the pastry and spread with the nettles. Place the log of braised venison towards the top of the pancake. Roll the edges together. Brush with egg wash to seal and sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate for 15 minutes before baking for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
For the watercress pure, wash the cress, spinach and parsley then drain well. Place all three into a deep pan of boiling water and blanch for 10 seconds. Take the greens out of the water and drain through a colander. Blend in a bar blender whilst still hot letting down with a small amount of the cooking liquor if needed until it comes to a smooth pure. Add the butter to help emulsify and enrich the pure and then season with salt. Pass through a fine sieve onto a metal bowl that is sat over ice to help chill the pure quickly and to stop the pure losing colour.
For the beetroot fondant, peel the beetroot with a vegetable peeler using plastic glove. Using a 38mm ring cutter, cut one fondant out of each beetroot. Trim the beetroot so each is 25mm in height, and use a peeler and paring knife to trim the fondants into a neat shape. Place the fondants into a hot frying pan with a small amount of sunflower oil to colour and then place in a shallow dish with the chicken stock, butter and thyme and then bake in the oven (at 180C) for 20-30 minutes.
For the baby gems, rub with 20g butter and then place in the fridge to allow the butter to set. Place the gem halves into a hot frying pan to colour them. Add the stock and remaining butter and cook down over a high heat, basting the lettuces with the butter and stock. Season with a pinch of salt.
. For the venison loin, trim the sinews off the venison loin carefully. Cut the loin into four portions and place each individually into a vacuum pouch along with 5g butter. Place a cling film wrapped sprig of thyme in each bag and vacuum pack on the highest setting. Place in a water bath set to 54C for 20-25 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the pouch, pat dry with kitchen paper. Heat a drizzle of sunflower oil in a pan and then colour the venison.
. To serve, spread a small spoonful of the pure in a stroke across the plate. Place the loin, Wellington and fondant alongside. Rest the baby gem atop the fondant and spoon the gravy over the loin.
Gordon Ramsay Recipe from Ramsay's Best Menus. Buy the book now
