Lombardia
Roe deer (capriolo) marinated in Barbera wine with juniper, cloves, bay and vegetables for 48 hours, then braised slowly until the meat is tender and the sauce is dark and deeply flavoured. A preparation of the Bergamo and Brescia Alpine foothills where deer hunting is part of the autumn tradition. The salmì technique — with blood or reduced wine as the thickening agent — is the same as for hare and wild boar.
Dark, winey and deeply gamey; juniper gives resinous warmth; the reduced wine sauce is glossy and coating; the lean deer meat is tender and deeply flavoured — Lombard hunting season on a plate
{"48-hour marinade in Barbera or Bonarda — roe deer is lean and the marinade both flavours and slightly tenderises","Discard the marinade; use fresh wine and vegetable broth for braising — the marinade proteins make the sauce bitter","Brown the deer in lard at very high heat — lean venison must be seared at maximum temperature for any colour","Braise at 150–160°C for 2 hours — the lean muscle requires low, long heat to tenderise without drying","Pass the braising vegetables through a mouli and return to the sauce — natural thickening without added starch"}
{"A tablespoon of pig's blood (if available) whisked into the finished sauce off heat gives the traditional salmì richness","The liver of the deer (if provided by the butcher) can be finely chopped and added in the last 5 minutes — it dissolves and enriches dramatically","Bergamot polenta (bramata grossa) served alongside is the traditional accompaniment — its coarseness absorbs the dark sauce"}
{"Using the marinade as braising liquid — bitter, murky sauce is the result","Insufficient browning — lean deer meat seared at low heat remains pale and the sauce lacks depth","Too short a braise — deer muscle requires 2 full hours at low heat; early removal produces tough, chewy meat"}
La Cucina Bergamasca — Selvaggina, Polenta e Casoncelli