Venison Shanks with baby beets, grain mustard and chestnuts

INGREDIENTS:

2 fallow shanks (4 portions)
150g carrots
150g celery
100g leek
3 cloves garlic, chopped
12 baby beetroot
150g cooked chestnuts
25g butter
1 tsp sage
2 tsp grain mustard
1 tbs tomato purée
2 litres venison or dark chicken stock

Serves 4

The shank of any animal has bags of flavour since it is a muscle that works hard and contains a lot of sinew that will in turn give good flavour and substance to the sauce you are cooking with. Once cooked they will nearly fall off the bone and be a delicious winter warmer.

Chop the carrots, celery and leek into 2cm dice. Season the shanks and fry in a pan to give them even colour all over then remove and place into a lidded ovenproof dish.

Fry all the vegetables apart from the beetroot in the pan you have used for the venison until coloured, then add the tomato purée and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the stock and sage and then transfer to the dish with the venison shanks, cover and cook in the oven for 1½ hours or until meat is tender. Larger shanks could take slightly longer.

Remove the shanks from the cooking liquid and keep warm and covered so they do notdry out. Decant the liquid into a saucepan passing through a fine strainer and remove the vegetables – keep them warm with shanks.

Bring the cooking liquid to boil, add mustard and reduce by half.

Drop the baby beetroots into cold water, bring to the boil and cook until tender,then refresh in cold water and peel. 

Sauté the chestnuts in 15g of the butter to warm through. 

Reheat the baby beetroots by plunging in boiling water then drain and toss in10g melted butter. 

Place the shanks in a serving dish and cover with hot sauce, then garnish with vegetables, baby beetroots and chestnuts.

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