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Slow-Cooked Pulled Venison with Celeriac Slaw

Slow cooking is one of our favourite cooking methods for venison shoulder, as it breaks down the connective tissue and makes the venison meat meltingly tender. Serve the piquant slow-cooked venison in hamburger buns with an autumnal celeriac slaw - it's one of our favourite weeknight dinner ideas.

25 minutes prep, 3-4 hours cook

Serves 10

Ingredients

2 roe deer shoulders

300ml maple syrup

150g brown sugar

150ml soy sauce

1.4L brown stock (beef or veal)

2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

For the slaw:

200g celeriac

100g baby gherkins

Juice of 1 lemon

250ml mayonnaise

2 tsps cornflour

Method

Mix the maple syrup, brown sugar, soy sauce, beef broth, chilli, pepper and garlic to make your cooking liquid. Preheat the oven to 170°C/Fan 150°C/Gas 3.

Put the shoulders into a large casserole dish and pour the broth over venison. Bring it to the boil and transfer to the oven for 3-4 hours, or until the venison meat comes easily off the bone. Once the meat is cooked, drain the liquid, passing it through a mesh strainer and skimming off any fat. Retain the liquid.

Using rubber gloves so that you can do this while the venison meat is still hot, take the meat off the bone and pull the meat into strips.

Now put the bring the rich broth to the boil and reduce it by two thirds. Once reduced, thicken the liquid with cornflour, diluted in a little water. It needs to be thick enough to coat the back of spoon.

For coleslaw, cut the celeriac and gherkins into fine strips. Mix with the lemon juice and mayonnaise. To serve, place the rich game meat in the hot sauce to warm up and serve in toasted brioche buns with a good helping of coleslaw.