Gillie's Venison

(Highlands)

Venison - Flour - Bacon Fat or Beef Dripping - Salt and Pepper

This is perhaps the simplest and certainly (say the gillies) the best way of cooking venison.

Cut the meat into three-quarter inch cubes and dip in seasoned flour. Melt plenty of fat in a strong iron pot - two inches is a good depth - put in the venison, and keep turning till browned all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover closely, and cook gently for 1 hour or until the meat is tender. Dish the meat, pour off any superfluous fat, and make gravy in the usual way, thickening it with flour.

This basic recipe may be varied in several ways. A chopped onion may be browned in the fat before the venison is put in. A rasher or two of bacon may be cut into short lengths and added. Jamaica pepper and a clove or two will give it more goût. A few chestnuts, peeled and scraped, may be cooked with the meat. And the laird adds a glass of port wine.

Serve the stew with mealy potatoes. Celery, with its nutty flavour, makes an excellent accompaniment to venison or any game.