It’s Sunday which means the day of rest……I think. It’s been a mentally draining week due to health issues concerning my daughter and whenever I get stressed I like to eat and oh boy did I EAT.
I should probably start off by saying the venison used in this recipe is a close as field to fork cooking as I could ever imagine. A local gamedealer got in touch with myself as he had recently shot a Roe Deer (17.kg) and I could have it if I wanted. Only a fool would say no so I spent my Saturday skinning and butchering the deer in my kitchen, the end result was 10kg of pure local venison:
The massive pile of meat to the bottom right, was turned into 2kg of mince, which was used to make venison Meatballs. Now I love cooking and at age 35, a homemade meatball is something I have never made so in my usual approach to most things in life, I jumped in with two feet and made one of the best meals I’ve eaten for a long time.
The highlight of this little venture is that my 4 year old daughter got really involved and helped mince the meat, add the ingredients and craft a massive pile of meatballs:
The recipe I used was found online and serves 6 people, needless to say we did not eat all of these and some are in the fridge for another day. What I will say is that if you are super organised, make the Ragu the night before to save yourself some time as it took a while to reduce. I got there in the end but the wife and kids were demanding dinner for a long time.
Dinner was served and it was a big success. Kids didn’t like the Ragu but I did add more wine that I should’ve (whoops) so I don’t blame them. I’m just happy they tried it and enjoyed it, not only that but they know where the meat game from, what went into the meatballs and had a right tasty dinner.
Thanks for reading.
Keith
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 2 free-range eggs
- 125ml/4fl oz milk
- 450g/1lb minced venison steak
- 200g/7oz breadcrumbs
- 75g/3oz parmesan, grated
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
For the ragu
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 stick celery, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 150g/5oz tomato purée
- 450ml/¾ pint red wine
- 450ml/¾ pint chicken stock
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
To serve
- Linguine, cooked according to packet instructions
- parmesan, freshly grated
Method
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For the meatballs, beat the eggs and milk together in a bowl. Add the minced venison, breadcrumbs, parmesan and garlic and mix well.
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Mould the meatball mixture into balls, each the size of a golf ball.
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Place the meatballs onto a plate or tray and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
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Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
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Remove the meatballs from the fridge and place into a hot frying pan. Fry for 8-10 minutes, or until golden-brown all over.
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For the ragu, heat the oil in a separate frying pan. Fry the onion, carrot, celery and garlic for 5-6 minutes, or until softened.
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Add the tomato purée and cook for a further 7-8 minutes, until the sauce is thick and deep red in colour.
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Add the wine, chicken stock and rosemary and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
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Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 5-6 minutes, until the meatballs are completely cooked through.
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To serve, place a generous portion of cooked spaghetti into each serving bowl. Spoon over equal amounts of the meatballs and sauce, and finish with grated parmesan.
Field To Fork Food 
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