Wild Venison Ragù with Tagliatelle
Wild venison mince cooks slowly with tomato, carrot and red wine before being tossed through tagliatelle.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 35 min
- Total
- 1 hr 55 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Species: Muntjac, Chinese Water Deer, Roe Deer, Fallow Deer, Red Deer
Ingredients
- 600 g wild venison mince
- 20 ml olive oil
- 180 g onion, finely diced
- 120 g carrot, finely diced
- 100 g celery, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 30 g tomato purée
- 125 ml red wine
- 500 g passata
- 250 ml low-salt beef stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 320 g dried tagliatelle
- 40 g Parmesan, finely grated
- 10 g parsley, chopped
- 2 g fine salt, or to taste
- 1 g ground black pepper
The cut for this recipe
Wild Venison Mince
Method
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring until softened. Add the garlic for the final minute.
Increase the heat, add the mince and break it into small pieces with a spoon. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring, until evenly browned with no pink patches.
Stir in the tomato purée for 1 minute, then add the wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the passata, stock, bay leaf, oregano, salt and pepper.
Bring to a gentle bubble, partly cover and simmer for about 65 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little hot water if it becomes dry. The sauce should cling to the mince rather than sit in a watery pool. During the final 10–12 minutes of this simmer, cook the tagliatelle in a separate pan of boiling water for the time on its packet.
Stir well and check several places with a clean food thermometer. The ragù must be piping hot throughout, the mince must have no pink, and the centre must remain at or above 70°C for 2 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.
Reserve 150 ml of the pasta water, drain the tagliatelle and toss it with the ragù, adding just enough reserved water to loosen it.
Divide between warm bowls and finish with the Parmesan and parsley.
Storage
Divide leftovers into shallow containers, cool 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. Defrost in the fridge, use within 24 hours and reheat only once until piping hot throughout.
