Tom Shepherd serves venison three ways – as loin, belly and sausage – alongside a tart blackberry ketchup and light goat's cheese mousse, in this impressive dish. Every part of the vegetables is used: the potato skins are dehydrated and powdered and the celeriac trim becomes a crunchy garnish. It's a recipe that takes a lot of time, skill and patience, but the final result is a truly show-stopping main.
First, brine the venison belly in a 10% salt brine for 24 hours
After 24 hours, remove the belly from the brine, and soak for 10 minutes
Pat the belly dry, then sear off the skin side and cook in a pressure cooker for 1 hour
Divide the belly in two, and dust the flesh side of one with meat glue
Press the two flesh sides together between two trays and leave in the fridge overnight to set
Preheat the oven to 200°C
Bake the potatoes whole for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked all the way through
Halve the potatoes and scoop out the flesh, then smoke the flesh in a Bradley smoker. Set aside until needed
Dehydrate the potato skins at 50–60°C for around 8 hours
For the venison sauce, preheat the oven to 220°C
Roast the venison bones until golden, then set aside
Add a dash of oil to a large pan, then add the venison trim and cook until caramelised
Add the carrots and mushrooms and cook until golden
Add the shallots and sweat down
Add the brandy and very carefully flambé, then cook until reduced down
Add the red wine vinegar and reduce to a syrup
Add the Madeira, thyme, garlic and peppercorns. Reduce to syrup
Add the red wine then cook until reduced right down
Finally, add the stock, soy sauce and venison bones and simmer until reduced to a sauce-like consistency
Pass through a fine sieve and muslin cloth and set aside
Place the blackberry purée and gellan F in a Thermomix and take to 100 degrees, then transfer to a suitable container and set in fridge until firm. This can also be done on the stove in a pan
Blend the puree with equal quantities of sugar and Chardonnay vinegar until smooth. Season with table salt, then pass through a fine sieve. Transfer to a bottle
Bring the oil to 150°C, then whisk in 100g sliced garlic
Continue cooking and whisking until the garlic is golden, then pass off the garlic and set aside
Steam the king oyster mushrooms at 82°C for 11 minutes. Once cooked, place in the lukewarm garlic oil for 1 hour
To make the celeriac purée, first brown the butter in a large pan
Add the celeriac and cook until golden
Add half the stock and reduce by half, then cook for 10 minutes or until the celeriac is soft
Remove the pan from the heat and blend with the remaining stock
Season to taste and then pass through a fine sieve mesh sieve
Transfer to a bottle and set aside
Blend the celeriac trim to a coarse crumb
Heat the oil to 180°C
Deep-fry the celeriac trim until golden and crisp and set aside
Blend the dehydrated potato skins with some salt to a powder
To prep the venison loin, first remove all sinew, fat and excess meat, until you are left with completely clean loin
Roll the loin tightly in cling film, leave to set for 3 hours. Meanwhile, prepare a barbecue for barbecuing the belly
For the goat's cheese mousse, add 600g cooked, smoked potato, milk, cream, cheese and butter to a pan and bring to a simmer
Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth
Add to a heatproof cream whipper with one charge loaded
Once set, remove from belly from the fridge and portion into 100g pieces
Just before serving, sear on the barbecue until caramelised
Season the sausage with table salt, then straighten the sausage with your hands
Cook in a pan ensuring the sausage is roasted equally
Add butter, thyme and garlic to taste. Baste the sausage with butter, then rest and carve
Season the loin with table salt then sear in a pan over high heat for 10 seconds on each side
Add butter, thyme, and garlic to the pan, and baste the loin then remove from the pan
Cook for one minute on each side in the oven then flip. Repeat until cooked
Rest the loin for 5 minutes then carve
Slice the oyster mushrooms into quarters, and sear on one side then season to taste
Serve the loin on each plate with some venison sauce, and two pieces of mushroom and a piece of the sausage. Place some ketchup on the plate, and garnish with a blackberry half. Place some celeriac purée on the plate and garnish with some of the celeriac crumb and a round of raw celeriac. Place the venison belly in a separate bowl, garnish with some of the goat's cheese mousse and then dust with powdered potato skin
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