New Years Venison Legs and Shanks with Wild Rice

I am lucky to have a dear friend (no pun intended) who likes to hunt and share. I am the lucky recipient of 2 lovely legs of venison. I wanted to do them justice for New Years Day. I began the marinade with:

10 garlic cloves
1 Tbs. juniper berries
2 tsps. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

I put it all into my handy dandy Black and Decker chopper and whirled it around to coarsley chop the ingredients.

Then I spread  the mixture all over the meat and added about 12 sprigs of thyme and 3 bay leaves to the meat.

I covered it and put it in the refrigerator to marinate overnight and up to 24 hours.

Mean while in a bowl I combined:

1 cup of golden raisins

1/2 cup dried pitted plums

1 cup of dried apricots

1/2 cup currents

 and soaked the fruit in

1 1/2 cup brandy.  Let stand overnight. Stir occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place 3 Tbs of olive oil in a large roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven for 5 minutes until oil is hot, dredge the meat in 4 Tbs. flour. Brown the meat on both sides about 7 minutes per side, in the oven.

Add 3 cups of white wine and 4 cups chicken broth, bring to a boil on top of the stove.
 Cover the pan with foil.

 Lower heat to 350 degrees and simmer in the oven for 1 and 1/2 hours.

Then add to the pan

5 carrots
5 yellow carrots
5 parsnips
All cut into 1 inch slices
1 large onion diced

Cover the roasting pan with foil and place it back into the oven for another 1 and 1/2 hours,
until  the meat and vegetables are tender.

Remove  the meat and vegetables from broth, let cool a bit, then take all of the meat off the bones and cut into bite size pieces. In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water until smooth.  Place all of the broth into a dutch oven and whisk the flour mixture into the broth, bring to a boil on top of the stove. Add  the meat to the broth. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, correct seasoning if necessary.

Serve with the Wild Rice.

Chop 1 large white onion
In a four quart pot saute' onion and 6 sprigs of thyme in 1 Tbs. olive oil until softened, then

stir in 2 cups of wild rice

Stir in 4 cups of water and 1 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil then
cover pot and lower to simmer for about 20 minutes, add the marinated fruit and continue to simmer another 20 minutes until the grains are tender but don't pop.

Serve with the venison.

Recipes, photos and writing by Karen Pickus 2011
courtesy Karen Pickus 2011