Lafer's marinated venison pot roast with potato dumplings

MARINATED VENISON POT ROAST

1. Peel the carrots and celery, clean and thoroughly wash the leek, then cut everything into walnut-sized pieces. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Wash the thyme and shake it dry. Wash the orange in hot water, dry and zest. Pound the juniper berries in a mortar and crush the peppercorns.

2. Pour the wine, vinegar and 250 g water into a suitable pan. Add the prepped ingredients together with the bay leaves and sugar. Bring to the boil then leave to cool. Dab the meat dry with some kitchen roll then place in the cooled marinade. Marinate in the fridge for 2–3 days, turning 2 or 3 times.

3. When you are ready to start cooking, remove the meat from the marinade and shake off any excess liquid. Pass the marinade through a sieve, catching the stock. Use a suitably large roaster to heat the clarified butter, then sear the meat on all sides and season with salt and pepper. Remove the meat and set it aside.

4. Place the marinated vegetables in the hot roaster and cook for 8–10 minutes. Add the tomato purée and stir-fry. Pour in the stock and place the meat on the vegetables. Braise in the X BO (150°C/0% humidity) for 2–2.5 hours until the meat’s core temperature reaches 90°C. Remove the meat and place on the non-perforated steamer tray. Allow the X BO to cool to 50°C. Put the marinated pot roast back into the X BO and keep it warm until you are ready to serve.

5. Strain the braising juices from the roaster into a pan. Simmer over a medium heat for 5–8 minutes until you achieve a semi-liquid consistency. Add the cranberries for extra flavour and season with salt and pepper.

POTATO DUMPLINGS

6. Line the non-perforated steamer tray with a baking mat and sprinkle with the coarse sea salt. Wash the potatoes under running water and clean with a vegetable brush if necessary. Place unpeeled on the salt. Insert the tray into the BORA X BO about 45 minutes before the end of pot roast’s cooking time and cook the potatoes parallel to the pot roast until soft. Remove and leave to cool slightly.

7. Halve the cooked potatoes, pass through the potato press cut-side-down then remove the peel. Pass the potatoes through the potato press a second time into a bowl. This should give the dough a pleasantly smooth consistency.

8. Melt the butter in a small pan. Beat the yolks in a bowl and add to the potatoes. Sprinkle on the starch and pour the melted butter over the top. Mix thoroughly and season with 1 tsp salt and some freshly grated nutmeg. Place the potato dough on a floured work surface and roll out to around 5 cm thick. Cut into ten to twelve evenly sized pieces. Use dampened hands to shape the pieces into round dumplings.

9. Bring a good amount of salted water to the boil in a large, shallow pan. Add the dumplings and reduce the heat. Leave the dumplings to steep for 10–12 minutes. When they float on the surface, remove with a slotted spoon.

GLAZED APPLE SLICES

10. Wash, quarter and core the apples. Squeeze the lemon. Cut the quartered apples into thin slices and drizzle with lemon juice.

11. Heat the butter in a frying pan, sauté the apple slices over a medium heat and caramelise with the sugar and 1 pinch of salt until golden brown. Pour in the lemon juice and continue to cook the apple slices for approx. 5 minutes. Remove from the stove.

FINISHING TOUCHES

12. Slice the marinated venison pot roast and serve with the potato dumplings. Pour a little cranberry sauce onto each portion and garnish the meat with the glazed apple slices. Serve immediately.