Bonfire Wild Venison Baked Potatoes
Crisp jacket potatoes filled with a smoky wild venison and baked-bean topping for Bonfire Night.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 25 min
- Total
- 1 hr 40 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Species: Muntjac, Chinese Water Deer, Roe Deer, Fallow Deer, Red Deer
Ingredients
- 4 large baking potatoes (about 1.2 kg total)
- 500 g wild venison mince
- 20 ml rapeseed oil
- 150 g onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 20 g tomato purée
- 200 ml low-salt beef stock
- 400 g tinned baked beans in tomato sauce
- 15 ml Worcestershire sauce
- 80 g mature Cheddar, grated
- 10 g parsley, chopped
- 2 g fine salt
- 1 g ground black pepper
The cut for this recipe
Wild Venison Mince
Method
Heat the oven to 220°C, or 200°C fan. Scrub and dry the potatoes, prick them with a fork and rub with 5 ml oil and half the salt. Bake directly on a tray for 70–80 minutes until soft inside.
About 35 minutes before the potatoes are ready, heat the remaining oil in a saucepan. Soften the onion for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and mince and cook for 8 minutes, breaking up the meat.
Stir in the paprika, tomato purée, stock, beans, Worcestershire sauce and remaining seasoning. Simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring regularly.
Check the topping with a clean food thermometer after stirring. It must be piping hot throughout, have no pink mince and reach 70°C for 2 minutes.
Split the potatoes and fluff the centres with a fork. Spoon the hot topping into each, scatter with Cheddar and return to the oven for 3–4 minutes to melt the cheese.
Add the parsley and serve carefully, as the potato centres and filling will be very hot.
Storage
Cool in shallow portions and refrigerate within 1–2 hours at 5°C or below. Eat within 48 hours. Freeze promptly for up to 3 months for best quality. Thaw in the fridge and use within 24 hours. Reheat only once until piping hot throughout.
