Brockmans Venison Stew

It’s that time of year where the weather turns crippling cold and gin is shoved to the back of the cupboard until summer. But Brockmans isn’t just any gin. The blackberry and blueberry notes make it a gin for all seasons, and the perfect match to a warming winter meal.

We asked Emma, Miss Pond, to create a recipe for the season. After all, gin is a food group in her household. The berries in our botanicals really play to the savoury, earthy flavours of game meat, making venison the perfect match. She’s very much a fan of nose-to-tail eating and sourcing produce and meat as locally as possible. This venison stew will become a warming staple in your household, but if you’re keen to try more recipes, Emma is an expert in whipping together simple ingredients that you’ll have around your home. She’s also quite the expert in gin, writing for Gin Festival and articles on the perfect G&T. Speaking of, you should pour yourself a Brockmans & Tonic, prepare your stew, and while you wait head over to Miss Pond’s blog for travel and food adventures around the UK.

Brockmans Venison Stew

(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

• 1Kg of Venison (it’s just come into season)
• 50g Salted butter
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 Large white onions, chopped finely
• 2 Large carrots, chopped roughly
• 2 Large leeks, chopped roughly
• Lots of ground pepper
• A pint of beef stock (we used beef concentrate for a richer flavour)
• 400ml red wine (the fruitier the better)
• 75ml Brockmans Gin
• Your choice of accompaniment (mashed potatoes, dauphinoise potatoes, bread)

Method

1. Cook the meat with the oil in a heavy based pan until brown (sealed), remove from the pan and put to one side.
2. In the same pan, fry the chopped onions and leeks together in butter, then add meat when soft. You can put a lid over to help the softening process, make sure they don’t brown, as it’ll change the taste, and keep the heat fairly low.
3. Add the hot stock, wine and carrots into the same pot make sure everything is covered with liquid. Try to only just cover the ingredients otherwise you’ll have to spend a long time boiling off the water.
4. Bring to a simmer; cook for about 30mins with the lid on.
5. After this time take the lid off and simmer for 2-3hrs to reduce, stirring occasionally (every 15 mins or so). The longer you leave it the more water that will come off and the better it will taste.
6. About 30 mins before you want to serve, slosh in the gin and stir, turning the heat up a little. Adding it at this point will remove the alcohol but leave the wonderful fruity flavour behind. Emma promises you it’s worth it.
7. Serve in bowls with bread or your other accompaniment. (Do remember to factor in cooking this if doing potatoes! Don’t forget a gin and tonic too…)