Sous vide venison tacos with ancho chilli and bitter chocolate

To begin, toast the chilli in a hot dry frying pan until it is soft and aromatic. Remove the chilli from the pan, place in a bowl and cover with hot water, weighing down with a ramekin to keep it submerged. Leave for 15 minutes

Sweat the shallots and garlic in a little oil until softened but without colour. Add the tomato purée, thyme and mustard to the shallots and cook out for a few minutes. Add the wine to the pan and reduce to a syrup

Season the diced venison and sear in a hot pan to colour the meat. Do this in batches to prevent the meat stewing in the pan

Add the stock to the shallot and wine mixture and reduce by a third. Take the stalk and most of the seeds from the chilli and add the chilli to the shallot mix

Transfer to a blender and blitz to a purée. Return to the pan and continue to reduce until a thick paste is obtained. Adjust the seasoning to taste

Whisk the chocolate into the sauce and stir in the venison. Transfer to a cold tray and then cool completely in the fridge if not cooking straight away

Preheat a water bath to 75°C

Place the venison in a vacuum bag, seal on full pressure and cook in the water bath for 12 hours

To serve, remove the bag from the water bath and tip the contents into a bowl. Break up roughly with a fork and check the seasoning

Heat the tortillas gently in a pan and fill with lettuce. Top with the venison mix and sprinkle over cheese, chillies and coriander, then add a dollop of crème fraîche is desired