Wild Diced Venison from Yorkshire’s Harewood Estate
Generous chunks of diced venison shoulder and haunch, dark and rich in flavour, sourced from the beautifully wild Harewood Estate in Yorkshire. This lean, characterful meat is ideal for slow cooking, where its full depth comes to life.

This venison shines when braised low and slow, perfect for warming casseroles, hearty pie fillings, or any dish that offers a comforting winter embrace. For a truly nostalgic treat, consider suet puddings: combine the venison with onions, smoked bacon lardons, or mushrooms, encase in suet crust, and steam for hours. Serve with buttered greens, boiled potatoes, and plenty of gravy.

The bold, gamey flavour also lends itself beautifully to curries. A Massaman curry works wonderfully, as does a Jamaican-style goat curry or a Kashmiri dish rich with black pepper, cloves, and cardamom. Whatever you make, have bread or rice ready to soak up the sauce.

Although often cooked slowly, venison also suits quicker preparations. Try it in pasties for a rich twist on a traditional favourite. The venison pairs beautifully with swede and generous black pepper, making a comforting, portable meal.

Inspired by Chef Val Warner
"When cooking venison (in this case fallow), remember to cook it slowly and in a heavy pan with a well fitting lid. Really low and slow will give the best results.

A favourite of mine is to make a Mexican-style Birria. Sauté onion, a little fresh coriander stalk and garlic, in lard with cumin, cloves, oregano and star anise, toast ancho and guajillo chillies with perhaps a chipotle or two. Blitz the chillies with a considerable amount of cider vinegar and the onions plus a spoon or two of tomato puree. Stew the meat very slowly in this mix with additional bay, black peppercorns and water. Reduce the sauce once the meat is cooked. For a delicious taco, eat the stew in doubled up (juicy) warmed tortillas with a mix of chopped raw onion and fresh coriander leaves sprinkled on top plus a good squeeze of lime juice.

Diced venison is wonderful in a rough puff pastry pie, the meat cooked with bacon and quince and using red wine. Roughly chop the venison up even smaller and cook with diced swede, onions, potatoes and spices and it makes for a wonderful golden pasty, and the perfect lunch for a bracing coastal walk.

Add to a deep stew containing smoked sausage, paprika, cabbage, lentils and a good stock, and it makes for a wonderful eastern European hunter’s stew, ideally produced from a thermos in a forest."