Deer Goulash with Savoy Cabbage and Porcini Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 kg deer shoulder (deboned and trimmed)
• 100 g smoked pork belly
• 150 g onions
• 100 g carrots
• 60 g celery stalks
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 4 juniper berries
• 6 peppercorns
• 1 clove of mace
• 1 tsp ground piment
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 0.125 l dry red wine
• 500 ml game stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 thyme sprigs
• Salt
• ground black pepper (freshly ground)
• 0.5 tbsp cornstarch
• 200 g cleaned porcini mushrooms
• 20 g butter
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 0.5 small savoy cabbage head
• 1 Shallot
• 100 ml heavy cream (at least 30% fat)
• 6 potatoes (boiled and sliced thinly)
• nutmeg

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the meat, pat dry, and cut into roughly 2.5 cm cubes. Cut the pork belly first into slices, then into small cubes. Peel the onion and chop coarsely. Wash, peel, and cube the carrots about 1 cm; slice the cleaned celery stalks into 1 cm thick rounds.

2. 2.

   Heat the oil in a large pot, add juniper berries, peppercorns, mace, and piment, sauté over medium heat to create a spiced oil. After 2 minutes increase the temperature and sear the meat cubes until browned all sides. Add the pork belly briefly, then remove both from the pot.

3. 3.

   Add onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and roast together in the remaining oil. Stir in tomato paste and let it brown slightly. Deglaze with half the red wine and reduce completely. Add the remaining wine and reduce again. Pour in game stock and return the browned meat, pork belly, bay leaf, and thyme to the pot. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 1½ hours. Taste and add more stock if needed.

4. 4.

   Remove the meat pieces with a fork from the stew liquid and set aside. Strain the sauce into another pot, bring to a boil, and thicken with cornstarch mixed in a little water. Return the meat to the sauce.

5. 5.

   Clean the porcini mushrooms, halve or quarter them depending on size, and sauté in hot butter. Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, and parsley. Clean the savoy cabbage, separate leaves, wash, remove tough stems, and cut into strips.

6. 6.

   Sauté finely chopped shallot in a little oil, add the cabbage, and cook with cream until tender. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Plate the mushrooms and meat on warmed plates. Fry the sliced potatoes in oil, season with salt and pepper, and serve them in a bowl as a side.