Game Recipe

It's the Annual TopCubans.com Game recipe. This year, we have gone for th exotic, Braised venison with a bitter chocolate sauce. I cooked this with Rick last weekend and it came off quite nicely. You will need a rich red wine to go with this and an aged digestive to pair with your cigar during your post dinner smoke. The ingredients are as follows - 4 x 250g/9oz pieces of venison shoulder 50ml/2fl oz sunflower oil salt and freshly ground black pepper For the Marinade: 1 bottle 750ml/1¼ pint red wine 8 juniper berries, crushed 12 black peppercorns, crushed 2 bay leaves 1 sprig of fresh thyme 1 strip of orange peel 1 medium carrot, diced 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped 4 garlic cloves, peeled 1 celery stick, chopped For the Sauce: 1 tbsp tomato purée 350-400ml/12-14fl oz water 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly 30g/1¼oz bitter chocolate, grated For the Garnish (optional): 24 chestnuts, prepared and cooked