Basic venison stock

1 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
5 pounds Bones, cut or chopped small
2 pounds Meat cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 mediums Onions, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 mediums Carrots, diced small
5 Ribs celery, diced small
1 cup Dry red wine (or 1 cup apple juice)
1½ gallon Water
1 teaspoon Thyme
1 tablespoon Juniper berries (optional)
2 Bay leaves
½ cup Tomato paste

Directions

yields about 1 gallon

Method: Roast bones and meat on a rack in a roasting pan at 400 degrees until well browned - about 40 minutes. Put celery, carrot and onion on top of meat and brown also, another 15 minutes. When browned, discard fat in the pan and put bones, meat, vegetables in a pot large enough to hold everything. Put roasting pan on a stovetop burner over medium heat, pour wine into pan and deglaze, scraping any browned residue off pan and add to stock pot. Add water, covering the solids, and remaining ingredients.

Bring to a gentle boil then cover and reduce heat to a very slow simmer for at least six hours, skimming occasionally. Uncover and simmer for four more hours or until reduced to a gallon of liquid. Strain, discarding solids and cool, uncovered. Cover when fully chilled (and not before or it may sour).

To make larger batches, just multiply everything except thyme, juniper and bay. For each doubling of all the other ingredients, multiply them by 1½ or they'll be too strong.

That's the basic stock from which we'll make these two sauces. The first one is rich; a good sauce to put on venison no matter how you've cooked it.

The second is the fullest taste of venison you're ever likely to find, with a very deeply concentrated flavor. This first sauce, Venison Espagnole, is what's called "a thickened reduction" and the second, Venison Demi-Glace, begins with the first and more of the stock, then goes to a yet further reduction. In each case, flavor is more intensified and developed than in the stages before.

Posted to FOODWINE Digest 23 November 96 Date: Sat, 23 Nov 1996 17:46:56 -0800 From: Bob Pastorio <pastorio@...>

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