The Best Recipe for Venison

Regnar Christensen is the award-winning Executive Chef at the Black Barn Bistro in Havelock North. He spoke to Farmlander about his love of hunting and a tasty recipe for wild venison.

What do you like most about being back in Hawke’s Bay?  

The Hawke’s Bay has always felt like my home, I love the landscape and the community. I have easy access to go hunting in some beautiful country or surfcasting at the beach. My wife and I have four children and we love raising them here and exposing them to what the outdoors has to offer. There is nothing you cannot get locally produced here.

How would you describe your cooking philosophy?

My first focus is to find quality local produce. If you can do that everything else falls into place. I try to cook simply and let the ingredients do the work. I love cooking with produce out of season, so I do as much pickling, preserving, and fermenting as possible.

When you’re not at work, what are you doing?

If I’m not spending time with my wife and children or planning new dishes, I’m out hunting or fishing. I will take any chance I can get to pack the car and head off to the hills; it’s my release. When I’m in the hills or have a line in the water that’s my only focus, I’m not particularly successful but I love it nonetheless.

Where are your favourite hunting/fishing spots?

My favourite place to hunt is the Kaweka ranges, I love the challenge of hunting Sika and I love the landscape with all the clay pans, manuka, beech forest and open tussock tops hunting, there’s no other place like it. If I was to go surfcasting and had a bit of time, I’d drive up to Mahia and fish my favourite spots Snapper Rock and Blacks Beach.

What’s your number one tip to make cooking easier?  

Be organised; make sure you have everything you need before you start. I like to prep before I cook, so I will have all my ingredients weighed up and ready to go in bowls or containers before I start.

Wild venison osso bucco with pappardelle

Serves 4

Ingredients

2kg venison osso bucco – this could be done with Denver leg, but I love the marrow coming out of the bones into the sauce

1 bottle red wine (750ml)

Rice bran oil for cooking

A few sprigs thyme

1 large onion – diced

1 medium carrot – diced

150g mushrooms – sliced (I love shiitake but you can use whatever is available)  

1 stick of celery – diced

2 bay leaves

60ml red wine vinegar

750ml beef stock

Freshly ground black pepper

Sea salt to taste

To Serve

Store bought pappardelle – I like De Cecco if I’m not making my own

25g butter

A few sprigs worth of thyme leaves

Method

• Marinate the venison overnight in the wine.
• The next day remove the venison reserving the wine and dry with a paper towel. Heat a Dutch Oven of heavy based pot, season the venison with salt and brown in a little oil, remove from the pot and set aside.
• In the same pot, sweat down your vegetables and herbs until soft. Add the meat back in along with the wine and vinegar and reduce by half. Add the beef stock and bring to the boil, then turn down to a gentle simmer for approximately 2 ½ - 3 hours.
  
• Remove the meat from the braise and pick off in chunks, remove any marrow that may be left in the bones and then add it all back to the braise, season with salt and pepper (the braise should be reasonably thick by this point). Cover and keep warm.
• In a separate pot, cook the pasta in boiling water according to the packet’s instructions. Drain and then add back to the pot, toss with the butter, thyme leaves and a little more black pepper.
• Place pappardelle in bowls and top with braised venison.