Sunday Roast of Wild Venison Shoulder

Recipe by Gareth Davies of Social Food Project

Who can go past a traditional Sunday roast. Make yours more sustainable with a slow cooked bone in wild venison shoulder - as delicious as lamb but with a far smaller carbon footprint. Add any trimmings you like, from Yorkshire Pudding to classic roast veg, and don't forget the gravy.

Ingredients

Serves 4–6

1 venison shoulder

5 large carrot

2 bulbs garlic

2 large brown onion

1 bunch thyme

4 sprigs rosemary

1 1/2 glass red wine

5 large potatoes

2 tbsp cornflour

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

How to make it

Remove shoulder from fridge and packaging, pat dry with a paper towel at least 15 minutes before cooking.
Preheat oven to 150 degrees.
Cut 1 bulb of garlic in half, roughly chop the onions and two of the carrots, then place in a roasting tray with half the thyme and rosemary.
Place the shoulder on top of the veg.
Drizzle the shoulder with some oil and season well with the salt and pepper.
Pour in the wine avoiding the top of the shoulder. Top up with water until ¾ of the tray is full.
Cover with baking paper and a couple of layers of foil.
Place in the oven for 3-4 hours, checking every hour. If the liquid evaporates to less than half top-up.
At this stage, peel and quarter the potatoes. Bring to the boil in well-seasoned water, for around 6-10 minutes or until the outsides become soft.
Meanwhile, heat a few good lugs of oil in another roasting tray.
Well drain the potatoes and set aside to steam dry for 4-5 minutes.
When the tray of oil is hot, carefully transfer the potatoes, turning them until they are lightly cover with oil and season.
Return to the oven and turn them every 15 minutes or so.
After 30 minutes peel the remaining garlic and add to the potatoes along with rest of thethyme.
Continue to turn the potatoes until they are completely golden brown and crunchy all over.
Meanwhile, peel and quarter the remaining carrots lengthwise.
Place in a baking tray with a couple of tablespoons of oil and seasoning.
Check every 15 minutes for about 45 minutes or until nicely roasted.
After 4-6 hours the shoulder should be tender and falling off the bone.
Remove the meat from the tray and let it rest for 15mins.
Meanwhile, strain the remaining liquid through a fine sieve into a saucepan.
Bring the cooking liquid to a gentle simmer.
In a small bowl, add the cornflower and enough cold water to make a slurry.
Slowly add the slurry to the stock until you have your desired consistency.
Serve on a large patter and let everyone dig in.