Robert's Venison Goulash

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 2 kg venison goulash
• 8 onions
• 250 g bacon
• 0.33 celery
• 6 carrots
• 3 tbsp clarified butter
• 3 star anise
• 15 juniper berries
• 4 bay leaves, dried
• 12 black peppercorns
• 4 tbsp tomato paste, 3-fold concentrated
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1.2 liters of red wine
• 1 liter Game stock
• 5 tbsp currant jelly
• Himalayan salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

Fine, finer, venison goulash!

Peel and roughly dice the onions, carrots, and celery. Remove the cartilage from the bacon and also roughly dice it. I cooked it on and in the wood-fired oven. Of course, a regular electric stove and oven will also work, as will a Dutch oven. In a large pot, fry the bacon with the lard and let it brown. If necessary, transfer to another pot. Now brown the venison goulash in batches. It is extremely important not to use too large batches, as otherwise too much meat juice will escape. When a batch is ready, remove the meat and add it to the pot with the bacon. It is best to add the spices to a spice container, which can then be easily removed once cooked. Now fry the vegetables at high heat, stirring frequently. Then add the tomato paste. It is important that the heat is not too high and that it is not sizzled for too long, as otherwise it will become bitter. Reduce with a quarter of the red wine and repeat this process twice. This forms the basis for a delicious sauce. Add the meat to the vegetables, stir everything together, dust with flour, and carefully turn again. Pour in the remaining wine and the game stock to cover everything, and bring to a boil. Transfer to the oven and simmer for one and a half hours. A temperature of 160°C is perfectly adequate. Finally, season everything with salt and pepper and the blackcurrant jelly. A variety of side dishes go well with this dish. This time I chose Lower Bavarian dumplings. Bread dumplings, spaetzle (check out my recipes), or even celery and potato purée would also work. Red cabbage or Brussels sprouts would be a great addition. Tips: Take the venison goulash out of the refrigerator in good time so it comes to room temperature. It’s really worth making more, as it tastes even better a day or two later. It also freezes well.