Pheasant and Venison Casserole

This pheasant and venison casserole is so rich and hearty on a chilly day.

The slow cooked game is simmered with chunks of bacon, carrots, shallots and mushrooms, for a hearty dish that is absolutely packed with flavour.

Perfect for a family meal, feeding a crowd or entertaining friends, this is an easy recipe that you can vary, according the availability of ingredients too.

It's easy to make it into a delicious pie too!

Enjoy

Game and venison tend to be very lean meats, as they are mostly wild and free range, which makes them a healthy choice. Many supermarkets and butchers stock game when it's in season, but it's normally also available frozen all year round online too.

Venison is very much like beef to cook in a casserole, so it goes beautifully with bacon and red wine flavours.

Pheasant is a very lightly flavoured meat, similar to chicken, but with a tendency to dry out, so it's perfect for casseroles.

Of course, there are lots of other birds to choose from too, so a mixed game casserole is a delicious alternative too.

The casserole uses classic flavours, very much like a venison bourguigon that you can tweek to add your favourites. I have also included redcurrant jelly, to enhance the natural sweetness of the meat and juniper berries, but you can leave them out if you prefer.

If I am serving this as a family meal I serve it with dumplings or cheesy mashed potato, but for an entertaining dish I like to serve it in individual pots with confit or fondant potatoes on the side.

Why you will love this dish

• Easy recipe to make as no special skills required
• Use any game you like
• Low fat and tender meat
• Great family winter warmer and perfect for entertaining too

Jump to:

• Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Cooking Time
• 🥗 Side Dishes
• Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• Storage
• FAQs
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

• Game - a mixture of pheasant meant and venison, cut into chunks. It's good to have a mixture of cuts as the leg meat is full of flavour.
• Butter - for flavour. I tend to use salted butter when cooking meat.
• Oil - olive oil or vegetable oil for frying the meat.
• Onions - whole small onions. I use banana shallots but you can usenormal shallots.
• Thyme - few sprigs of fresh thyme.
• Bay leaves - fresh or dried whole bay leaves, so that you can remove them easily before serving if you prefer.
• Juniper berries - these are delicious with game. Give them a gentle squeeze before adding them to the dish so that they can release their flavour.
• Flour - to sear the meat and thicken the stock.
• Seasoning - freshly ground black pepper and flaked sea salt.
• Wine - red wine that you would be happy drinking with the meal.
• Stock - beef stock from a cube or Bovril is fine.
• Redcurrant jelly - this gives an extra sweetness and is delicious with game.
• Carrots - regular carrots.
• Mushrooms - small white or chestnut mushrooms.
• Bacon - I've used smoked bacon lardons, as the fat adds so much flavour to the dish.
• Cornflour - optional, if you prefer a thicker gravy at the end.

See recipe card for quantities.

🍽 Equipment

• Large deep 3 litre casserole dish with lid - approx 3 quarts or 5 pints
• Wooden spoon
• Sharp knife
• Slotted spoon

🔪 Instructions

Peel the carrots and cut into bite sized pieces.

Leave the shallots whole after peeling or they will disintegrate while cooking.

Heat the butter in the casserole dish over a medium heat and add the lardons and shallots.

Cook for about 5 minutes until slightly coloured then remove from the heat.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shallots and bacon to a plate.

Leave the butter and juices in the dish to sear the meat

Mix the flour together with the salt and pepper and place in a large shallow tray.

Cut the game into bite sized pieces and dredge in the seasoned flour.

Add a tablespoon of the oil to the pan with the reserved butter over a medium heat.

Fry the meat in batches until brown on one side then turn over.

Add the remaing oil if necessary.

💭 Top Tip

• It's important to leave plenty of space or the meat will steam rather than fry.

When the meat is fried, set aside with the onions and bacon.

Add the wine to the pan and stir with the wooden spoon to loosen any bits from the bottom. Cook for a minute.

Stir in the redcurrant sauce until it melts then add the bay leaves, juniper, thyme and stock.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the meat and onion mixture.

⏲️ Cooking Time

Preheat the oven to 150 C / 300 F / 130 FAN / Gas 2 and cook in the oven for 1 hour.

Add the carrots and mushrooms and stir well to mix.

Replace the lid and cook for a further hour.

If you prefer a thicker gravy combine the cornflour with cold water and stir into the mixture 20 minutes before the end of cooking time.

Check the seasoning before serving.

The pheasant and venison stew will be tender and juicy and the gravy will be full of bacon flavours.

Delicious!

🥗 Side Dishes

Have a look at more British sides dishes.

Here are some of my favourites to go with game:

• Fried Cabbage with Bacon and Onions
• Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
• Leeks in White Sauce
• Easy Roast Potatoes
• Spiced Red Cabbage with Apple
• Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese
• Duchess Potatoes

Substitutions

• Venison - replace with braising or stewing steak.
• Shallots - use small onions, or silverskin onions but leave them whole.
• Lardons - use any smoked bacon pieces. If they are in rashes leave them in larger pieces.

📖 Variations

• Game casserole - use any combination of venison, pheasant, duck, pigeon, guinea fowl, rabbit or partridge.
• Vegetables - add chunks of potato, celery, swede, parsnip, celeriac, sweet potatos or other root vegetables to vary the flavours.

Storage

• Refrigerator - cool, cover and keep in the refirgerator for up to 3 days.
• Freezer - freeze for up to 3 months.
• To reheat - reheat in the oven or over a low to medium heat on the hob.

FAQs

More meat dishes to try

Have a look at the beef and venison section for more ideas and here are my favourite game dishes to try.

• Venison Sausage Plait
• Roast Partidge
• Venison and Bacon Burgers
• Duck with Orange Sauce
• Pigeon with Blackberry Sauce
• Guinea Fowl with Chestnuts
• Duck Confit with Redcurrant Sauce

📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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