Côtes du Rhône Venison Shank with Herb Dumplings
above picture is not my own
This sounds intense. But when you have a venison shank from your husband’s last hunt that needs to be cooked you make it savory and delicious! Relatable right?
Unlike my husband, I did not grow up hunting or eating venison so for the longest time the meat seemed so exotic and intimidating! However, when we made the decision to eat more sustainably, wild meat like venison became a staple in our household. Now we had to figure out how to prepare and cook it. And since my husband looks to minimize waste and processing by harvesting the entire animal, and not turning it into burger, I started to get creative!
Ingredients
For Venison Roast
Venison shank or 1 lb venison roast, cut into serving sized pieces
2 cups of red wine (I prefer Côtes du Rhône by Kermit Lynch)
1 medium yellow onion (sliced)
4 cloves of garlic (smashed)
3 carrots (cut in thirds then lengthwise)
3 celery ribs (cut in thirds)
1-2 cups beef bone broth (to cover)
5-7 sprigs of fresh thyme or other savory herbs (rosemary, sage, parsley)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
3 tbsp of high heat oil (avocado, grapeseed, sunflower)
For Herb Dumplings
1 cup of flour
5 sprigs of thyme (stemmed) or other savory herbs (rosemary, sage, parsley)
~ 1/2 cup of milk
3 tablespoons of butter (cubed and chilled)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
Method
Start by heating a skillet to med-high heat or bring a cast iron up to 400 degrees in the oven. Drizzle high heat oil to coat the pan.
After patting the leg dry, sprinkle some sea salt and then sear on the skillet on all sides until browned for 3-5 minutes (it should not stick. if it does, it has not seared long enough!).
Set the leg aside in an oven safe dish (I like the 3.5 quart Le Creuset oval casserole dish with a lid).
Add the onions to the pan for about 5 minutes until golden. Add the mashed garlic cloves for 1 minute and then set aside with venison
Now sear the carrots until they have a nice sparsely charred exterior and add to venison/onion/garlic with celery.
Deglaze the pan by pouring 1/2 cup of wine and using a metal spatula to scratch off the crispy bits that got stuck to the pan and add to the venison.
Top the venison with remaining wine and broth (enough to cover), add 1/2 of the herbs and cook at 225 ° F for 8-10 hours (depending on your oven). Checking once it gets closer to the 8 hour mark to ensure the meat does not go over 130° to 140° F with a meat thermometer.
While the venison is cooking, prepare dumplings by mixing the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and herbs. Cut in the butter into the mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs. Drizzle in a little bit of milk and incorporate until it is a thick batter.
Once the meat is at 130° remove meat from sauce and let rest for 15 minutes.
Carve the meat from the bone (it should be very tender) and tent. If you are using sliced venison then skip the carving.
Drop tablespoons of the dumplings into the stew and cover. Put back in the oven for 15 minutes.
Serve in a bowl with your veggies and topped with dumplings.
