Recipes

VENISON RAGOUT A LA LUCHOW'S

REH RAGOUT

4 or 5 pounds venison shoulder

Vinegar and red wine to cover

2 onions, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

6 pepper corns

1 tablespoon salt

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons beef suet or lard

1 cup red wine

2 or 3 tablespoons flour

Wipe venison with wet cloth. Cut in 1 1/2 in. cubes. Place in enameled kettle or large crock; cover with a mixture of equal amounts of red wine and vinegar. Add onions, carrots, peppercorns, salt and bay leaves. Cover and let stand in refrigerator 1 week.

When ready to cook, drain meat. Melt suet or lard in very hot heavy roasting pan. Place venison in pan and brown quickly in very hot oven (475F to 500F) 20 to 30 minutes. Or I prefer to braise the meat quickly in a cast iron Dutch oven in small batches and transferring each batch to a ceramic crock until all the meat has been braised.

Add onions and carrots from the marinade (do not use marinade liquid). Add 1 cup red wine and sufficient water to cover venison. Lower oven heat to moderate (350F), or just hot enough to simmer liquid in pan. Cook 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove any excess fat. I prefer 300F for 4 hours.

Place venison on hot serving dish. Stir enough flour into pan to make a smooth gravy; bring to a boil on top of range, stir, then strain over venison. Serves 8.

Venison Sausage Soup

Ingredients

• 16 ounces hot or sweet venison or game sausage

• 6 cups chicken broth

• 2 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

• 1 cup uncooked small shell pasta

• ½ pound baby spinach leaves

• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

• 2 cloves garlic

Preparation

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan, and cook about 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain; return to pan.

Add broth, tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano and pasta to pan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until pasta is done. Remove from heat; stir in spinach until wilted. Sprinkle each serving with cheese and basil.

Serves 8