[Sca-cooks] Venison Pepper Stew Recipe

[Lisa]

A while back I mentioned a German venison pepper stew recipe, but I did not
have access to the actual recipe itself and had to rely on memory.  I
finally got a chance to copy the recipe from the cookbook my parents have
and remembered that I had promised to post the recipe in it's entirety when
I did so.  The cookbook is German Traditional Cooking by Tony Schmaeling

Venison Pepper Stew

2 lbs Venison cut into cubes
2 Cups dry red wine ( I prefer to use something I'd drink personally)
3 bay leaves
8 Juniper berries (crushed)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 onion studded with 6 cloves
6 peppercorns
2 slivers of lemon peel
4 oz Speck or bacon diced
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 Cups beef stock (I personally never use canned beef stock)
1/2 Cups sour cream
3 Tbs red currant jelly, heated
white pepper
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

Place meat in marinade of wine, bay leaves, juniper berries, thyme, onion
and cloves, peppercorns and lemon peel.  Refrigerate for 24 hours.  Drain
meat and reserve marinade.  Lightly saute' speck/bacon to render the fat.
Add venison to pan and fry till brown.  Season and add 1 cup of the stock.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 50 minutes or until meat is tender.
During that time, gradually add the rest of the stock and all of the
strained marinade.  Add sour cream, red currant jelly, sufficient white
pepper to make the stew quite peppery, and the lemon rind.  Continue cooking
gently for 5 m or minutes.  Season to taste.  Serve with Spatzle.  (Since I
didn't want to deal with making spatzle the last time I made it, I used
fettucini noodles and it worked well also.)

Lady Elizabeta of Rundel