Sous-vide Venison Stew

This is ideal for dinner parties as you can leave it cooking in the water bath while you entertain your guests.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 500g diced venison
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 150ml rich red wine
• 100g diced pancetta
• 1 beef stock gel cube
• 2 cloves crushed garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp red current or cranberry jelly

Method:

1. Pre-heat the sous-vide machine to 75 degrees Celsius.
2. Fry the onions in a tablespoon of the sunflower oil over a medium heat until they start to brown.
3. Transfer the onions to a dish to cool slightly before adding to the bag you'll be using for the sous-vide cook.
4. Add the mushrooms to the pan that that onions were fried with, adding the last tablespoon of oil and cook until they start to brown.
5. Once again transfer the mushrooms to a dish to cool before adding to the sous-vide bag.
6. Turn the heat up under the pan to high and wait for the frying pan or skillet to be sizzlingly hot.
7. Sear the outside of the diced venison in the hot pan until it starts to brown.
8. Place in a dish to cool and then into the sous-vide bag.
9. Mix the wine and corn flour in a cup until it's fully dissolved, then add to the sous-vide bag.
10. Add the remaining ingredients to the sous-vide bag and seal.
11. Once sealed, mix the contents of the bag around to make sure it's well mixed.
12. Cook for at least 8 hours. This will give a meat which holds together, needing a knife to cut, but shouldn't be too chewy.
13. Serve with mashed potato and wilted spinach (dressed with a vinaigrette and toasted pine-nuts).

Serves 3 or 4.