Gordon Ramsay’s venison stew is venison shoulder marinated overnight in red wine and port with juniper berries. It is slow-braised with smoked bacon, onions and chestnut mushrooms. The recipe comes from Great British Pub Food and needs about 2½ hours plus the overnight soak.
Ramsay says venison “can easily dry out during cooking” so the overnight marinade is what prevents it. The wine and port soak gives the meat a deep, plummy colour while the crushed juniper and peppercorns build a warmth that herbs alone cannot match.
The technique that sets this apart is reducing the marinade by two-thirds before the stock goes in. Most recipes pour everything in together, but this reduction concentrates the wine and port into something syrupy. The finished stew tastes like it braised for a whole day.
Gordon Ramsay’s Venison Stew
Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
20
minutes2
minutes570
kcal3 hr
A hearty slow-braised venison casserole from Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food. Shoulder marinated overnight in red wine, port and juniper berries, then braised with smoked bacon, onions and chestnut mushrooms until falling apart. Ramsay has four different venison stew recipes across his cookbooks, and this is the most comforting.
Ingredients
1kg venison shoulder, cut into bite-sized pieces
1½ tsp juniper berries, lightly crushed
1 tsp black peppercorns
Few thyme sprigs
Few rosemary sprigs
1 bay leaf
300ml red wine
300ml port
2 tbsp plain flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp olive oil
200g smoked streaky bacon, derinded and cut into chunks
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
600ml beef or veal stock
250g small chestnut or button mushrooms, halved
Flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly torn, to finish
Directions
- Marinate overnight: Place the venison in a large bowl with the juniper, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Pour over the wine and port, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
- Prepare the venison: Lift the venison from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper. Reserve the marinade. Season the flour and coat the venison pieces, shaking off excess.
- Sear in batches: Heat olive oil in a flameproof casserole. Fry the venison in batches for 2 minutes each side until browned. Remove to a plate.
- Fry the bacon and onions: Add more oil if needed. Fry the bacon chunks for 3-4 minutes until golden. Add the onions with seasoning and fry for 4-6 minutes until softened.
- Reduce the marinade: Pour in the reserved marinade including the herbs and spices. Bring to the boil and reduce by two-thirds.
- Braise: Return the venison and pour in enough stock to cover. Turn the heat to the lowest setting, partially cover and simmer gently for 1½-2 hours until just tender.
- Add mushrooms: Add the halved mushrooms, season well and simmer for a further 30 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked and the sauce has thickened.
- Serve: Spoon into warm bowls and scatter with torn parsley.
FAQs
Why does Gordon Ramsay marinate venison overnight in wine and port?
The overnight soak does two jobs. The acid from the wine tenderises the lean shoulder meat, and the port adds a natural sweetness that balances the gamey flavour. By morning the liquid turns deep purple and the venison smells incredible.
Ramsay says the marinade “helps to keep it moist, while imparting a dark, rich colour and extra flavour.” He adds it is “not absolutely essential” but strongly recommends it. His beef bourguignon uses a similar wine soak for the same reason.
Why reduce the marinade by two-thirds before adding stock?
This is the step most stew recipes skip. Reducing the wine and port concentrates the alcohol into a thick, almost jammy glaze that coats every piece of venison. If you skip this and just pour everything in, the sauce tastes thin and sharp instead of deep and rounded.
The reduction takes about 10-15 minutes of hard boiling. You will know it is ready when the liquid looks syrupy and dark. His red wine jus uses the exact same technique, reducing wine until it turns glossy before the stock goes in.
Why does Ramsay add mushrooms in the last 30 minutes?
Mushrooms release water as they cook. Adding them at the start would flood the stew with extra liquid and dilute the reduced wine sauce you spent 10 minutes building. By waiting until the last 30 minutes, the mushrooms cook through without breaking the sauce.
They also keep a better texture this way. Mushrooms simmered for 2 hours turn mushy and disappear into the stew. Ramsay uses small chestnut or button mushrooms halved, and at 30 minutes they stay firm with a slight bite.
How does the Bread Street Kitchen venison ragu differ?
BSK has a completely different venison stew: a ragu served over pappardelle. It uses Madeira instead of port, adds butternut squash, celeriac and swede to the braise, and finishes with Worcestershire sauce and garlic breadcrumbs. The cooking time is similar at 1½-2 hours but the result is more of a pasta sauce than a bowl of stew.
In Secrets, Ramsay takes the opposite approach entirely. His “navarin of venison” uses loin cubes sautéed for just 7-10 minutes, which he calls “a posh stew” even though it is barely a stew at all. Three books, three completely different approaches to the same meat.
Does venison stew store well?
Better than almost anything. The flavours develop overnight and the meat softens further as it sits. Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days, and reheat gently on the hob with the lid on so nothing dries out.
It also freezes well for up to 3 months. You could freeze half the batch and turn it into a venison pie later. Just spoon it into a dish and top with pastry or mashed potato. His loin of venison with chocolate sauce is the opposite: a quick-cook dish that does not store at all.
