Cooking With Beer: Youngs Double Chocolate Stout and Venison Stew

Cooking With Beer: Youngs Double Chocolate Stout and Venison Stew

For a couple of months I've been toying with the idea of writing a piece around cooking with beer. After a month of searching various websites I came across a recipe from guardian website. Rather than just replicating what they have done, I decided to put my own spin on it by using Young's Double Chocolate stout rather than brown ale. I also substituted some of the Venison (as it's so expensive) with some beautiful chestnut mushrooms. So here is my recipe and some photos from my attempt. Let me know if you give it a go too.

400g venison medallions

300g of baby carrots

2 tbsp oil

7 shallots, peeled and chopped in half

150g of diced pancetta

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp plain flour

200ml beef stock

400ml Young's Double Chocolate Stout, 5.2%

2 tsp soft light brown sugar

2 bay leaves

Sprinkling of Cadbury's drinking chocolate

200g of Chestnut mushrooms

Serve with creamy mash potatoes

Preheat the oven to 130C/Gas Mark 2. Cut the venison into 3cm cubes, discarding any gristle and sinew.

Trim the carrots, and put them into the oven.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok. Fry the venison for 5–6 mins until browned on all sides, adding a little extra oil as necessary. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Add onions to the wok and fry for 2–3 mins, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, add the bacon and fry for a further 2 mins.

Return all the meat and any accumulated juices to the wok. Add the garlic then stir in the flour. Gradually stir in the stock and stout, scraping up any juices stuck to the bottom of the wok. Heat, stirring until simmering.

Add the sugar, bay leaves and thyme and season with freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle in the drinking chocolate.

In a casserole dish, cover the base with the mushrooms. Pour over the meat and liqueur.

Cover the casserole with a tight fitting lid or foil and cook in the oven for at least 2 hours or until the meat is tender.

The end result was a lovely hearty stew for the winter. This should serve four but with Emma and myself around, it realistically serves three. Very nice!

You could also supplement the Young Double Chocolate Stout for the following beers,

Meantime Chocolate Porter:
http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/meantime-chocolate-porter.html
Titanic Plum Porter:
http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/titanic-plum-porter.html

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