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Serves: 4 - 6
Prep time: 30 minutes

The venison in this recipe makes a nice change to the classic steak and kidney pudding we all know and love. I’ve added smoked streaky bacon for fat and flavour, a good red wine reduction and a hint of sweetness by using cranberries. This pudding truly is a lip-smacking treat. To make life easier, you don’t actually need to fry off the meat and onions before adding to the pudding but I do find that it adds more richness to the dish.

1 x portion of suet pastry
2 tablespoons olive oil
400g boned venison leg or shoulder, cut into cubes
100g smoked streaky bacon
10 small shallots, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons plain flour
150ml good red wine
a splash of port (if you have some lying around)
200ml fresh chicken stock (just as good from the chiller cabinet and the more gelatinous the better)
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
a few sprigs fresh thyme
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To begin with, get your dough then slice off a quarter of it for the lid. Roll the rest out fairly thickly. What you need is a circle, about 13 inches (32.5 cm) in diameter. Now line a greased 3litre pudding bowl with the pastry, pressing it around as you go.

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Season the venison, then brown in the hot fat. To get the best colour you may find it better to do this in batches. Remove the browned venison with a slotted spoon and set aside. Throw the bacon, shallots and garlic into the pan and sauté on a high heat for a few minutes until the bacon has gone crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and place with the browned venison.

Pour the wine into the hot pan and simmer until reduced by half. Take off the heat and stir in the stock so that it emulsifies with the wine but does not cook. You don’t really even want the stock to get too warm.

In a mixing bowl mix together the venison (and any juices), bacon, shallots, garlic, cranberries, flour and thyme. Place them into the pastry-lined bowl. Pour over the winey stock. The liquid level should come up to around the top layer of meat.

Roll out the pastry lid, dampen its edges and put it in position on the pudding. Seal well and trim the edges. Cover with a double sheet of foil, pleated in the centre to allow room for expansion while cooking. Now secure it with string, making a little handle so that you can lift it out of the hot steamer. Then place it in a steamer over boiling water. Steam for 4 hours.