Recipe Method

Bring the venison to room temperature, pat dry and season with salt.

Preheat the oven to 160˚C/140˚C Fan.

Finely chop the onion, carrot, celery and rosemary.

Add a splash of oil to a casserole dish and bring to a high heat. Sear the venison in batches until nicely coloured, remove and set aside. Reduce the heat to low before adding the onion, carrot, celery and rosemary. Season with salt & pepper. Cook for 10 minutes and then add a good splash of balsamic vinegar. Cook for a few minutes and then add 1 tbsp flour. Cook for another few minutes before adding the stock.

Increase the heat to medium/high and then add the venison back to the dish. Bring to a simmer, stir in the bay leaves, add a lid and cook in the oven for 3 hours.

Remove the stew from the oven, season to taste.

Increase the heat to 200˚C/180˚C Fan.

Thinly slice the potatoes, mix in a bowl with melted butter, salt, pepper and thyme leaves.

At this point I swapped the dish for the hotpot purely for aesthetic reasons, this isn’t necessary.

Arrange the potatoes in a layer over the top of the venison stew. Drizzle any remaining butter over the top.

Place in the oven for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and serve up with whichever sides you like.