Step 1 – Braising
Ingredients
1 Whole Deer shoulder (recipe also works for whitetail, fallow, or mule deer, just scale the recipe up
1 Bottle red wine
1 to 2 pints water
5 Garlic cloves
A bunch of parsley stalks
1 tbsp Sea Salt
1 Onion Whole
2 Sticks of Celery Whole
Method
1. Take a whole shoulder, fore leg off but leaving the blade and first bone in place
2. Place in a deep baking tray with a 50/50 mix of water and red wine to cover the meat
3. Add: garlic cloves, parsley stalks, sea salt, onion, and celery
4. Cover the tray with foil and bake on a low heat (180 F) for 4/5 hours (basically until the blade bone slides away from the shoulder meat leaving the leg bone still attached to the meat.
5. Drain juices and allow to cool – Keep the poaching stock, this liquid will make a rich gravy if reduced by simmering until it has thickened.
Step 2 – Finishing & Serving
Ingredients
1 Handful of Parsley
1 Bone marrow bone (pushed out of the bone when chilled and sliced into ¼ inch discs
Enough smoky bacon to cover/wrap (pig in blanket style) the haunch (~1 -2 pounds)
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp mustard (or more depending on the haunch size)
Method
1. Keeping the leg bone attached, dress the shoulder meat with chopped parsley and discs of bone marrow
2. Wrap the shoulder in bacon and tightly bind the bacon covered joint in cling wrap
3. Refrigerate overnight
4. To serve: brush the joint with a honey and mustard mix
5. Grill in a very hot oven until the bacon crisps up and the joint is hot through to the center
6. Serve with the Gravy and seasonal vegetables
Now pat yourself on the back for an amazing, restaurant-quality meal you just made at home!