This is a wonderful warming dish using a much underused cut – the shank.
Ingredients
- 4 deer shanks – frozen
- Olive oil- 4 fl oz
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks celery
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 leek
- 1.5 lb of heritage tomatoes
- 1 can of passata
- Rosemary stalk
- 1 cup beef stock
For the Polenta
- 1 lb dry fine polenta ( cornmeal)
- ½ lb butter
- 4 oz heavy cream
- Big handful of chopped Italian parsley
- 4 pints water
- Salt
Method
Start by sawing the shanks into 1 inch slices. You can use a home bandsaw or a handsaw if you let them thaw a bit. Or take them to a butcher to do.
Chop all the veg into ¼ pieces and smash the garlic.
Brown the shanks with oil over a grill or in a Traeger. Meanwhile pour a lot of really good extra virgin olive oil into a big sauté pan and soften all the veg until translucent. Pour in a glass of white wine and let it cook for a minute to push off the alcohol
Now add the rosemary, tomatoes and passata and simmer for 10 mins with the rosemary. Pour into a casserole dish and nestle the browned osso bucco in. Cover with a paper cartouche ( see programme) and slow cook at 140c / 300f for 3 hours in the oven. Check that the venison is tender then put aside to rest.
To cook the polenta – melt the butter and cream together. Boil the water with some salt in a big pan. Add the polenta stirring all the time. Stir for 5 minutes on a simmer until the water is absorbed and the polenta is smooth. Add the butter cream mix and stir well until it is not grainy. Add seasoning to taste and a handful of flat parsley.
Serve up in bowls with the osso bucco over the polenta – sprinkle liberal quantities of parsley over to finish.