Spicy venison stew

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 heart(s) of venison
• 1 venison lung
• 1 medium-sized onion(s), halved
• 150 ml wine vinegar
• 600 ml water
• 500 g soup vegetables (carrots, celery with greens, leeks)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 10 juniper berries
• 10 black peppercorns
• 10 peppercorns, red
• 1 all-spice
• 2 bay leaves
• thyme sprig(s)
• sprig of oregano
• 1 onion(s), finely diced
• 2 peppers, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp, heaped soup vegetables, from the broth
• ¾ liter of brew
• 50 g butter
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp, heaped flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 5 small pickled gherkins, finely diced
• salt and pepper
• chili powder

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 50 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 20 minutes

Lungs and heart of venison

Wash the lungs and heart of the venison (amounts vary from animal to animal) and then soak them in cold water. Peel the onion, but leave the clean part of the brown skin on. Halve the onion and brown it well on both sides in a small pan over high heat without adding any fat. Meanwhile, clean the soup vegetables and chop them, including the garlic. I use the Thermomix for this for 2 seconds on speed 5. You can, of course, do this by hand, but everything should be very finely chopped. Peel the outer skin from the heart. Cut away anything from the lungs that isn’t compacted in the membrane (trachea, fatty tissue), and finally remove the outer skin from the lungs as well. In a suitable container for the steamer, mix the vinegar, water, spices, and herbs. Then add the giblets and the roasted onion. They should be completely covered with the liquid. If not, top up with more vinegar and water, paying attention to the ratio. Since the lungs will float to the top, cover all the entrails with the chopped vegetables. Set the steamer to 100°C. After 60 to 65 minutes, the lungs should be done; remove them. Leave the heart in the broth for another 10 minutes at the same setting. Of course, you can also cook it on the stovetop. Use a suitably large pot and simmer everything over low heat with the lid closed; the time remains the same. Drain the entrails and let cool. Strain the broth and reserve it, along with 2-3 tablespoons of the soup vegetables. For the stew, melt half of the butter in a saucepan. Lightly brown the diced onion and add the tomato paste to roast. Then fry the reserved, cooked soup vegetables for a few more minutes, then push everything to the outside of the pot. Melt the remaining butter in the center of the pot. Add the flour and brown it, stirring constantly. Add the sugar and be careful not to burn it, which can happen very quickly with the sugar. Gradually stir in the vegetables from the edge and then pour in 1/3 of the stock, stirring constantly until everything has loosened from the bottom of the pot. Gradually top up with the remaining stock, add salt, and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. During this time, finely slice the lungs and dice the heart. Puree the soup thoroughly, either in a Thermomix or with a hand blender. Then heat the finely chopped meat and diced gherkins in the soup and season again with salt, pepper, and chili to taste. Classic dumplings and boiled potatoes go well with this, but fried potatoes are also delicious. Tip: 4 portions will certainly be completely consumed by two big eaters as a main course because of the seconds. It is time-consuming, but 1) the dish is easy to prepare in advance, and 2) it freezes well. So it’s worth preparing a larger quantity.