Welcome to the third of an exclusive monthly series by Sue Quinn, a local food writer and author of several cookery books. This month Sue shares her ideas on how to make the most of this season’s venison

MANY people hesitate about cooking venison, thinking it too rich, too fancy or just too tricky to bother with. That’s a shame.

We have such abundant supplies of this delicious lean meat in Dorset we should learn to love it more. I was really pleased to discover that the Wild Purbeck partnership (one of 12 areas set up around the UK to restore and manage precious natural environments) is developing a Wild Purbeck venison brand to encourage more locals to tuck in. It’s widely agreed that populations of sika and roe deer on the Purbecks need careful management and culling to maintain healthy herds (they have no natural predators) while preventing damage to woodlands, trees, crops, gardens, habitats and other wildlife.

To dovetail with this project, the first Dorset Venison Festival is being planned for April in Lytchett Minster to highlight the meat’s virtues, of which there are many.

Venison’s gameyness is often overstated; for me it’s more like lean, well-hung beef.

Because it’s very low in fat, the main cooking challenge is to preserve its rich flavours without drying it out.

The most tender cuts, loin and haunch, are perfect for roasting, frying or grilling and are best served pink. Tougher and more sinuous cuts like shoulder, neck and flank benefit from a long slow braise to make rich sticky stews and ragu.

The recipe below is a little bit unusual but super tasty and uses lots of seasonal ingredients including venison, celeriac and the regal Savoy cabbage.

Redcurrants and other berries are a traditional accompaniment to venison; here I’ve used dried cranberries because I had some but most other dried berries would work well too.

Pretty-as-a-picture venison in Savoy
Prep – 20 minutes
Cooking – 1 hour
1 Savoy cabbage
1 tbsp juniper berries
sea salt flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small leek, white part only, finely sliced
1 large carrot, diced small
150g celeriac, diced small
Freshly ground black pepper
600g venison mince (venison shoulder or neck, very finely chopped)
30g dried cranberries
Leaves from 3 thyme sprigs, chopped
400ml passata
1 egg

Separate the cabbage leaves by cutting them away at the base. Cook in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water so the leaves retain their fab green colour and spread out on a tea towel to cool and dry.

Place the juniper berries and a generous pinch of salt in a dry frying pan and cook over a medium-high heat, shaking the pan constantly, until the berries smell gorgeous. Transfer to a mortar and pound to a powder – or crush with a rolling pin.

Heat the oil in the same frying pan and gently cook the leek, carrot and celeriac with a pinch of salt and pepper, stirring often, until soft but not coloured, about 8 minutes.

Add the venison, breaking up any chunks with the side of a spoon. Add the cranberries, thyme and the crushed juniper, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring now and then, until the meat is browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the passata and simmer, stirring often, until the liquid has almost cooked away. Set aside to cool.

Butter a 20cm cake tin and preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Line the base and sides of the tin with the largest cabbage leaves, letting them overhang the sides a little.

Stir the egg into the venison mixture. Place half this mixture in the cabbage-lined tin and then place a layer of cabbage leaves on top. Add the remaining meat and finish with a layer of cabbage leaves, tucking them into the sides.

Bake for 30 minutes but take a peek now and then, and loosely cover with foil if the top is browning too quickly.

When cooked, place a large plate on top and wearing oven gloves, carefully turn over and lift off the tin. Ta-dah! Serve immediately, cut into slices.

For information about the Dorset Venison Festival visit dorsetvenisonfestival.org

Sue Quinn’s latest book, The Kids Only Cook Book, is available from good book shops (Quadrille, £12.99). Follow her on twitter @penandspoon and enjoy recipes at penandspoon.com

Where to shop

PURBECK venison is available from:
The Dorset Charcuterie Company – dorsetcharcuterie.co.uk or 01202 625688
Purbeck Wild Meats – purbeckproducts.co.uk or 07753 266811
The Dorset Wild Boar and Venison Company – thedorsetwildboarandvenisoncompany.co.uk or 01305 853 737