Venison Shank and Chestnut Mushroom Suet Puddings

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Pat the venison shank dry with kitchen paper, season the flour with salt and pepper and coat the shank in the flour.
Heat the oil in a large oven safe casserole dish and brown the shank until golden brown all over, remove from the casserole dish, set aside and return the casserole dish to the heat. Brown the carrot, onion, leek, celery, garlic and spices in the same dish until golden brown, add the tomato puree, the remaining flour left over from the dusting, and cook for 5 minutes over low heat, deglaze the dish with the port wine and cook until the Port is absorbed by the vegetables and becomes thick and sticky, return the venison shank to the dish. Add the stock, rosemary and bay leaf, cover the dish with a lid and bring the stock to the boil. Place the casserole dish covered with a lid in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours.

While the venison is cooking make the pastry.  Weigh the flour and suet into a large mixing bowl, add seasoning and mix well. Add a tablespoon of ice cold water at a time and mix until the pastry forms an easy to handle dough, I started with 6 tbs of ice cold water and then added a bit at a time until it was easy to handle. Do not over work the mixture as your pastry will be heavy, work quickly with light fingers. If you prefer use a mixer; take extra care not to over work the suet pastry. Once the pastry comes together and forms a ball, wrap the pastry in clingfilm and refrigerate for 2 hours. Lightly grease 6 – 5cm high x 7.5cm wide pudding basins with sunflower oil. On a lightly floured work surface roll the pastry 3 – 4mm thick and line the pudding basins with the suet pastry.

Once the venison is cooked, remove the dish from the oven and leave for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Remove the meat, set aside and pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a small saucepan.

Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and reduce until thick and coating, reduce by half the original measure.

Remove the bone and sinew and flake the cooked venison meat.

Heat a medium frying pan with the butter and saute the chestnut mushroom quarters seasoned with salt and pepper until golden brown. Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a large mixing bowl.

Add the flaked venison shank about, 200ml of the reduced sauce, the chopped herbs and mix well.

Fill each dish with 110g of well mixed pie filling, divide the liquid evenly between the puddings, dampen the rim with cold water and cover each pudding with a suet pastry lid, crimp and make a large steam hole in the centre of the lid with a metal skewer.

Steam the puddings for 1 hour, turn the puddings out onto warm serving plates.

Bring the sauce back to the boil and dd the sherry vinegar and spoon a generous amount of sauce over each pudding, serve with cooked green beans.

Cook’s notes
If you like kidneys: dice two venison kidneys in to 2cm pieces and saute them at the same time as the mushrooms, for about 3 minutes. Do not over cook the kidney as it goes rubbery, drain the mixture in a colander and add the sauteed kidneys and mushrooms to the cooked venison shank mixture.

How to steam: I used the thermomix to steam these puddings. Fill the jug with 1L of water, secure the lid and place the steamer basket on top, place the puddings inside and cover with he lid. Set the timer for 60 minutes at Veroma, speed 3. If you do not have a thermomix then use a saucepan with a steamer compartment, half fill the pan with water, place the puddings in the steamer compartment and place a lid on top, bring the water to the boil, reduce heat to a gentle simmer and steam the puddings for 1 hour.