How to Cook Venison Shoulder Sous Vide

Ask your local butcher for a venison shoulder as they are not readily available in supermarkets. The meat is very lean but can be tough and dry if cooked at high temperatures. Cooking sous vide results in tender, moist meat that can be used for tasty pies and casseroles and as a great alternative to chicken for Sunday lunch.

Ingredients

1 venison shoulder, 1.5kg
15g of rock salt
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 garlic clove
50ml of vegetable oil

shopping List

Finely chop the thyme, rosemary and garlic and mix with the salt

Rub the salt mixture over the shoulder and leave to cure in the fridge for 6 hours

After this time, preheat the water bath to 85°C

Rub away any excess salt with kitchen paper and place the shoulder in a large vacuum bag with the oil and seal under pressure

Place the bag in the water bath to cook for 8 hours

The shoulder can now be quickly pan-fried and served or the meat can be picked from the bone for other uses

Variations

For a greater depth of flavour, sear the meat before cooking and add 50ml of reduced red wine and 100ml of beef or veal stock to the bag.

Other herbs and spices can be added to the salt cure such as juniper, star anise or bay leaf.

Serving suggestions

The Galvin brothers serve their Daube of vension with quince and chestnuts or you could try using the meat in James Mackenzie’s Venison and juniper suet pudding served with chanterelle mushrooms.