Scottish Wild Venison Ragu with Pappardelle

Is ragu only for beef? Not any more.

Swap the usual mince for Scottish Wild Venison steak and let it braise low and slow until it falls apart at the fork. Same rich, deep comfort food, with wild harvested venison doing the work.

Here’s how we make it.

Serves 4 · Prep 20 mins · Cook 3 to 3.5 hours, mostly hands off

Ingredients

• 800g Scottish Wild Venison Stewing Steak Diced or Neck & Shin Diced (2 × 400g packs)
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 2 celery sticks, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 250ml red wine
• 400g tin plum tomatoes
• 300ml beef or venison stock
• 2 bay leaves
• A few sprigs thyme, plus extra to serve
• 1 tsp juniper berries, lightly crushed (optional, but it works beautifully with venison)
• 400g dried pappardelle
• Parmesan, finely grated, to serve

Method

1. Season the venison well. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole and brown the meat in batches. Don’t crowd the pan, or it steams instead of searing. Set aside.
2. Lower the heat, add the onion, carrot and celery, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic for a final minute.
3. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a minute or two to take the rawness out of it.
4. Pour in the red wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and let it bubble for a couple of minutes.
5. Return the venison to the pot with the tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, thyme and juniper. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook in a low oven (150°C/130°C fan) for 3 to 3.5 hours, or simmer on the hob on the lowest heat.
6. It’s ready when the venison shreds easily with a fork. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stalks, shred the meat into the sauce, and taste for seasoning. If it’s thin, reduce uncovered on the hob for 10 minutes.
7. Cook the pappardelle until al dente. Drain, keeping a splash of pasta water, and toss through the ragu.
8. Top with parmesan and a few thyme leaves. Serve.

It tastes even better the next day, and it freezes well too.

Ready to start cooking? Our full range of Scottish Wild Venison is cut to order and delivered fresh.

What would you swap into your usual pasta night?