Wild game meat lovers, here is the venison ragù recipe for you. It’s not a difficult dish to prepare, but you shouldn’t rush it, as it takes time to cook and to cut the meat, unless you have a meat grinder, of course. I always prepare it in abundance and then freeze it in jars, so I’m never without stock and since it needs some time to cook, at least it’s worth it. In fact, with this recipe, you will get about 5 and a half pounds of ragù.
The preparation of venison ragù is somewhat similar to that of traditional ragù, although the spices and the addition of red wine are different. Like all traditional recipes, everyone has their own variant; I always prepare it this way.
If you like wild game meat, also try these recipes of mine:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: about 5.5 lbs of ragù
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 3 lbs venison meat
- 1 onion (large)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 7/16 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1.5 cups red wine
- 1.5 cups tomato puree
- 1 cup broth
- 4 leaves bay
- 20 berries juniper
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste pasta
Steps
To prepare the venison ragù, remove the skin, fat, and cartilage from the meat and cut it into small cubes or pass it through a meat grinder using a coarse grinding disc. Set aside.
Peel the onion and garlic, chop them finely and set aside. Wash and trim the carrots and celery and chop finely.
In a large pot, heat the oil and butter and sauté the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery for 5-6 minutes over high heat, stirring often to prevent burning. Then add the minced venison and brown over high heat, stirring often until well browned (this will take about 10-15 minutes). Deglaze with the wine and cook for 5 minutes over medium-high heat, then add the tomato puree, broth, bay leaves, and juniper berries. Salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer, you can put the bay leaves and juniper berries in a cheesecloth, closing it like a bundle, so they release their aroma and you can easily remove them at the end of cooking if needed.
Let the ragù cook for about 2 hours and 15 minutes over low heat, with the lid closed, stirring occasionally.
Cook the chosen pasta in abundant salted water, drain it, keeping some of the cooking water aside, and season it with the venison ragù. Add a bit of cooking water to better mix the pasta with the ragù and serve.Of course, you can comfortably freeze the leftover venison ragù.
Tips
Venison ragù is excellent with both durum wheat pasta and egg pasta.
