Red Wine, Port and Venison Stew Recipe with Dumplings

Red wine venison stew or casserole in a Dutch oven with suet dumplings.

Red Wine, Port and Venison Stew Recipe with Dumplings

This simple venison stew or casserole recipe is a real winter warming treat, featuring swede, carrots and rich port gravy and red wine gravy... it's also topped with fluffy suet dumplings, and who doesn't love dumplings?

Course Main Course

Cuisine British

Keyword british venison stew, red wine venison stew, venison stew, venison stew with dumplings

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 2 35

Total Time 2 45

Servings Servings

Calories 1318kcal

Author Brian Jones

Ingredients

400 g Stewing Venison 14oz
½ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
2 tablespoon Flour
1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
15 g Butter 1 tablespoon
100 g Smoked Bacon Lardons 4oz
6 Garlic Cloves
1 Medium Onion 150g
1 Large Carrot 200g
300 g Swede 2 Cups (prepared volume)
4 Sprigs Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
½ tablespoon Juniper Berries
250 ml Ruby Port 1 Cup
250 ml Red Wine 1 Cup
250 ml Beef Stock 1 Cup
1 tablespoon Redcurrant Jelly

For the Dumplings:

45 g Dried Beef Suet ½ Cup
70 g Self Raising Flour ⅔ Cup
½ teaspoon Dried Thyme
¼ teaspoon Salt
60 ml Water ¼ Cup (to be added as required)

Instructions

Peel the garlic cloves and bash them with the side of a knife.
Cut the onion in half, peel it and then cut it into a 1cm (just under ½") dice.
Peel the carrots if necessary, then cut them into 25mm (1") lengths.
Peel the swede and then cut it into 25mm (1") cubes.
Lightly crush the juniper berries with the side of a knife.
Season the venison with the salt and pepper, then dredge it with salt.
Heat a 20cm (8") casserole pot over a medium-high heat, and when it is hot, add the oil and butter.
Once the butter begins to foam, batch fry the venison until it is nicely coloured and then set it aside. You will likely need to do this in 2-3 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
Reduce the heat under the pan to medium and toss in the bacon lardons and onion, then saute for 5 minutes. Stir regularly to free up the fond (the caught bits) on the bottom of the pan.
Add the garlic, carrots and swede, then saute for another 2 minutes.
Turn the heat up to high and pour in the port and red wine, add the bay leaf, juniper berries and thyme, then bring it to a boil and reduce by half.

This will take around 10-15 minutes on a regular electric hob, quicker on an induction hob.

Pour in the beef stock and stir in the redcurrant jelly until it has dissolved. Have a taste here and add salt as required.
Return the venison to the pot, add a lid and transfer to an oven at 150°C or 300°F and cook for 60 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients for the dumplings into a medium bowl, then pour in the water little by little until you form dough that is quite sticky.
Have a taste of the casserole and add salt if necessary.
Then add the dumplings, by using two spoons to form them and slide them into the stew.
Return the lid, and pop it into the oven for 45 minutes at 150°C or 300°F. Remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes if you like a crispy outer coating on your dumplings.
Serve

Video

Notes

If you want to thicken your stew before serving it, remove the dumplings, then stir through a cornflour slurry made from 1 tablespoon of cornflour and 1 tablespoon of water.

Nutrition