Venison Civet

Yield: 6 servings
1 1/2 kg venison; stewing
--FOR MARINADE--
200 g onion; sliced
1 shallot; sliced
100 g carrot; sliced
2 garlic cloves
1 parsley stalks
1 herbes de provence or thyme
1 salt
1 peppercorns; lightly crushe
30 ml cognac or good armagnac
1 l red wine; good - or to cove
50 ml oil, just to cover
1 juniper berries
----TO COOK
200 g pork back fat
100 g cooking fat/oil
200 g onion
50 g flour
500 ml red wine; good
1 salt
1 pepper
----OPTIONAL----
1 garlic clove; crushed
10 ml vinegar
100 ml blood, to thicken
Compose marinade. Slice onions, carrots, shallots & garlic, add herbs and
spices and cognac or armagnac. Add meat cut into largeish pieces, now pour
over enough wine to cover meat, Marinade meat 2 days, stirring morning &
night.
The day before serving, Take out and put into sieve, rejecting the
vegetables. cut back fat into dice and fry in cooking fat. Add onion,
(optional, when cooked take it out, liquidise and return) Fry meat in this
fat until it becomes grey - it won't brown because it was marinaded.
Sprinkle over the flour and stir till it disappears. Heat cooking wine
(corbi*res) pour delicately over meat, stirring to incorporate flour. Add
enough to cover the meat. Simmer until meat is very nearly tender. Allow to
cool.
On the day of the meal, remove excess fat, reheat and simmer until meat is falling
off bones. Strain sauce and reduce if needed. Add marinade -
stirring. Correct seasoning. Add optional garlic, and a dash of vinegar if needed,
reheat to simmering point. If using blood, add it to simmering sauce off the heat,
stirring the while. Pour back over the meat and serve without re-heating.