To Stew a Shoulder of Venison

Modern cookery for private families · Acton, Eliza · 1845

Source: Modern cookery for private families
Status: success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe: No

Ingredients (16)

For the venison

shoulder of venison ↝ Venison, NFS [Lamb, goat, game]
cayenne ↝ Peppers, raw, NFS [Other vegetables and combinations]
salt ↝ Salt, table, iodized [Spices and Herbs]
pounded mace ↝ Spices, mace, ground [Spices and Herbs]
allspice ↝ Spices, allspice, ground [Spices and Herbs]
thin slices of the fat of a loin of well-fed mutton ↝ Mutton, cooked, roasted (Navajo) [American Indian/Alaska Native Foods]

For the stewing liquid

good stock made with equal parts of beef and mutton

For serving (Espagnole)

part of the gravy in which it has been stewed ↝ Gravy, NFS [Dips, gravies, other sauces]
rice-flour
claret or of port wine
salt ↝ Salt, table, iodized [Spices and Herbs]
cayenne ↝ Peppers, raw, NFS [Other vegetables and combinations]

Optional additions for artificial savour

eschalots
ham ↝ Ham [Cold cuts and cured meats]
carrot ↝ Carrots, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
good butter ↝ Butter, stick, unsalted [Dairy and Egg Products]

Instructions (13)

Bone the shoulder of venison, following directions for veal or mutton shoulder.
Flatten the joint on a table.
Season it well with cayenne, salt, and pounded mace, mixed with a very small proportion of allspice.
Lay thin slices of mutton fat over the venison.
Roll and bind the joint tightly.
Place it into a vessel nearly of its size.
Pour in enough good stock (made with equal parts beef and mutton) to nearly cover the joint.
Stew as slowly as possible for 3 to 3.5 hours, or longer if very large.
Turn the joint when it is half done.
Dish and serve with a good Espagnole sauce, made with part of the stewing gravy.
Alternatively, thicken the gravy slightly with rice-flour mixed with claret or port wine, and season with salt and cayenne.

Optional preparation for fat

Some cooks soak the slices of mutton fat in wine before laying them on the joint.

Optional additions for artificial savour

For those who prefer a dish of high artificial savour, add eschalots, ham, and carrot, lightly browned in good butter, to the stew when it first begins to boil.

Original Text

TO STEW A SHOULDER OF VENISON.

Bone the joint, by the directions given for a shoulder of veal or mutton (see Chapter XI.); flatten it on a table, season it well with cayenne, salt, and pounded mace, mixed with a very small proportion of allspice; lay over it thin slices of the fat of a loin of well-fed mutton, roll and bind it tightly, lay it into a vessel nearly of its size, and pour to it as much good stock made with equal parts of beef and mutton as will nearly cover it; stew it as slowly as possible from three hours to three and a half or longer, should it be very large, and turn it when it is half done. Dish and serve it with a good Espagnole, made with part of the gravy in which it has been stewed; or thicken this slightly with rice-flour, mixed with a glass or more of claret or of port wine, and as much salt and cayenne as will season the gravy properly. Some cooks soak the slices of mutton-fat in wine before they are laid upon the joint; but no process of the sort will ever give to any kind of meat the true flavour of the venison, which to most eaters is far finer than that of the wine, and should always be allowed to prevail over all the condiments with which it is dressed. Those, 284however, who care for it less than for a dish of high artificial savour can have eschalots, ham, and carrot, lightly browned in good butter added to the stew when it first begins to boil.

3-1/2 to 4 hours.

Notes

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