Jugged venison with Knoepfle

Here is a recipe for jugges venison to try at home.

Preparation of Jugged vension

Carefully skin the venison using a sharp knife. Wash the meat, dab it dry, slice it into cubes and place it in a dish. Wash the vegetables and cut them into small pieces. Peel the garlic cloves and finely chop them. Bring 1 litre of red wine, the fruit vinegar, half of the vegetables and all of the spices to the boil, then leave to cool and pour over the meat. Place this mixture in a fridge or another cool place and leave the meat to marinate for up to a week. Once the meat has marinated, pour the marinade into a separate dish (do not pour it away) and leave the meat to drain for 2-3 hours.

Heat oil in a pan and sear the meat, adding a little salt. Gently heat the marinade and then filter by pouring through a teatowel. Heat oil in a casserole dish and fry the second half of the vegetables. Add the meat and stir the mixture until meat turns a little darker. Then add ¼ litre of red wine, a little of the marinade, the other spices and the paprika. Leave this mixture to stew for 60-70 minutes until the meat is soft. 

As soon as the meat is soft, remove it piece by piece and place on a pre-heated plate. Sieve the pig's blood. Boil the sauce and add the blood ladle by ladle, stirring all the time, until the sauce is smooth, shiny and thick. Add a little cognac, port or sherry; season with a little vingear if necessary. In the meantime, heat the meat in the remaining red wine, then add the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. If you cannot find any pig's blood, the sauce can be thickened using flour baked golden brown in the oven or using 'Saucenlebkuchen'. 


Preparation of Knöpfle

Place the ingredients in a bowl and mix them into a dough. Leave for 10-20 minutes. Then pass the dough through the special grater ('Knöpflehobel') into boiling, salted water (2 heaped tablespoons of salt). Leave the small pieces of dough in the boiling water for a couple of minutes, until they get on the top of the pan. Then take them out of the water and place them into a bowl.