Ingredients

For the venison ragout:
(for approx. 6 people)

For the marinade:

• 1.5 kg braised venison, diced (4-5 cm)
• 1 bottle of red wine
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 juniper berries, crushed in a mortar
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
• 4 fresh sage leaves

In addition:

• 50 g bacon, diced
• 2 tbsp oil for frying
• 1 tbsp flour
• Game stock (as required)
• 100-150 ml cream
• Rhubarb relish to taste
• Salt, black pepper

For the rhubarb relish:

• 1 large red onion, diced
• 50 ml apple cider vinegar
• 100 g brown sugar
• ½ Bay leaf
• 5 white peppercorns, crushed
• Salt
• 350 g rhubarb

For the mushroom puff pastry tarts:
(for 12 tartlets)

• 1 pack of puff pastry from the chiller cabinet
• 200 g brown mushrooms
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 250 g crème frâiche
• 150 g mild blue cheese, diced
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• Salt, pepper
• Oil for the mold

Marinate the meat the day before:

Put the spices in a tea bag. Place the wine, meat, carrots, celery, onion, garlic and the tea bag with the spices and herbs in a large bowl. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 24 hours. Turn occasionally.

The next day:

It's best to prepare the ingredients for the rhubarb relish and the mushroom puff pastry tarts straight away. Because while the
venison stew comfortably in the Merklinger, you have time to cook and bake the two recipes in the oven at the same time.

Then heat the Merklinger to approx. 200°-250°C.

Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper. Pour the marinade through a sieve into a bowl. Keep the vegetables and liquid separate. Put the tea bag aside for later. 

Heat the oil in a large fireproof pan and fry the bacon cubes in it.

Add the meat cubes and fry vigorously for approx. 10 minutes. Fry the vegetables for the last 3 minutes.

Deglaze with a little marinade and allow to evaporate. Repeat this process twice more. Lightly salt the ragout and pour in the rest of the marinade. Add the tea bags again. Cover and leave to simmer for approx. 1 hour. Stir from time to time and add a little more game stock if necessary.

At the end of the cooking time, season with salt, pepper, cream and rhubarb relish.

For the Rhubarb relish:
Peel the rhubarb, cut off the ends and cut the stalks into
Cut the onion into approx. 1 cm cubes. Place the onion, sugar, spices and vinegar in a heatproof pan and bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved. Add the rhubarb pieces and bring to the boil while stirring. Simmer until the relish has a thick consistency. (It only took 5 minutes for me.) Stir again and again. Put several tablespoons to one side. (This will make the
Venison ragout refined and it tastes wonderful with the meat).

Pour the rest into clean screw-top jars, seal, place on the lid for 5 minutes, turn upside down and leave to cool.

Tip: The rhubarb relish also goes well with grilled food or hard cheese.

For the Mushroom puff pastry tartlets:
Clean and slice the mushrooms. Heat the oil in an ovenproof pan and sauté the mushrooms. Add the garlic and rosemary and sauté briefly. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper.

Mix the crème frâiche with the egg in a bowl. Mix in the blue cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Grease a muffin tin with oil.

Cut the puff pastry into 12 squares. Line the cavities of the muffin tin with the pieces of pastry. Pour in the filling and arrange the mushrooms on top. Bake in the Merklinger for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Serve the venison ragout with the warm mushroom puff pastry tartlets and the rhubarb relish.