Slow Cooked Venison Ragù

This rich and delicious Slow Cooked Venison Ragù recipe is the perfect make-ahead friendly dinner, perfect tossed with fresh pasta and finished with a generous grating of pecorino cheese.

📝 Ingredients

• 2 tbsp light oil
• 1 small carrot
• 1 small brown onion
• 1 small celery stick
• sea salt
• 110 g diced pancetta
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 500 g minced venison
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 250 ml red wine
• 250 ml chicken or beef stock
• 200 g chopped tomatoes (half a tin)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 25 g unsalted butter

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan or casserole over a medium heat until shimmering. Add the carrot, onion and celery, all peeled and / or trimmed and finely chopped along with a pinch of salt. Gently cook for 10-12 minutes until very soft.
2. 2Stir in the pancetta, and cook for a further 5 minutes until it no longer looks raw and the fat has started to melt down. Crush the garlic cloves and stir them into the pan, cooking for a further minute until aromatic.
3. 3Add the venison, and turn the heat up to high. Break the mince up as you stir into the smallest pieces possible (you won’t get it to break down as much as you will minced beef, so don’t worry!), cooking until the meat no longer looks raw, and has started to colour.
4. 4Stir in the tomato puree and cook for a further few minutes until slightly caramelised. Add the rosemary and bay.
5. 5Stir in the red wine, stock and chopped tomatoes, and season well with black pepper and a little more salt. Once the mixture has come to the boil, reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer, uncovered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
6. 6When you’re cooking the pasta, just before serving, fish out the bay leaf and the stems from the rosemary sprigs. Then check to see if the ragu needs any more salt or pepper before stirring in the butter until it melts into the sauce.