Gulasch di Cervo con Paprika e Bacche di Ginepro Trentino

Ingredients

• For the marinade
• 750 ml red wine, Teroldego or Lagrein preferred
• 1 onion, halved
• 8 juniper berries, lightly crushed with the flat of a knife
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 kg venison shoulder or leg, cut into 4 cm cubes
• 60 g lard
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp hot paprika
• 1 tbsp sour cream, stirred in off heat at the end

Method

1. 1
   Combine the wine, halved onion, crushed juniper berries and bay leaves in a non-reactive vessel, then add the venison cubes, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning the meat once — the long, cold soak draws the gamey notes out into the liquid and lets the wine and juniper work into the centre of each cube rather than merely sitting on the surface. Remove the venison and reserve the marinating liquid. Pat the meat thoroughly dry with paper towel so that surface moisture cannot turn to steam in the pan, which would stew the meat instead of colouring it.
2. 2
   Heat the lard in a heavy-based braising pot over maximum heat until a haze rises from the fat. Working in batches, sear the venison cubes on all sides without crowding the pot, so the heat stays fierce enough to drive colour into the meat before the lean muscle contracts and tightens. Each batch is ready when the cubes release freely and show a deep mahogany crust on all exposed faces.
3. 3
   Remove the browned venison, reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped onions to the same fat, cooking and stirring until soft and lightly golden with translucent flesh and colour at the edges. Return the heat to low-medium, add both the sweet and hot paprika directly to the fat and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes — this is where the dish lives or dies: paprika added to liquid tastes raw and without depth, and it must bloom in fat until fragrant and brick-red before any liquid enters the pot. Keep the heat gentle here so the paprika darkens but does not scorch, which would make the finished sauce bitter.
4. 4
   Return the venison to the pot and pour the reserved marinating liquid over the meat, adding water if needed so the liquid just covers the cubes. Bring to a bare simmer, then reduce to the lowest possible heat, cover tightly and braise for 2 to 2.5 hours, because a rolling boil will seize the lean muscle and leave it dry and stringy no matter how long it cooks. The meat is done when a cube yields without resistance to gentle pressure from a spoon and shows no pink at the centre.
5. 5
   Lift the venison from the pot and assess the sauce; if it is too thin to coat a spoon, increase the heat and reduce uncovered until it reaches a coating consistency. Return the venison to the pot, remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream so that the residual warmth folds it into the sauce without it splitting from a hard boil. The sauce should be thick, glossy and deep red-brown, clinging to the meat without pooling.