Cured venison tartare with pickled onions & venison fat croutons

Chapters is a small restaurant and bottle shop run by Mark and Charmaine McHugo, chef and grower/manager duo. It’s located in the Welsh market town Hay-on-Wye and offers a seasonally changing set dinner menu that celebrates the best the local area has to offer.

It’s been recognised as one of the most sustainable restaurants in the UK by the Eat 360 guide.

Mark works with his local butcher to source Wild venison from local estates - he loves the meat because its versatile in the kitchen and delicious - eating it also helps with the management of soaring deer populations.

INGREDIENTS

Venison Cure:

  • 700g grey salt/rock salt

  • 300g sugar

  • ¼ tsp clove

  • ¼ tsp hogweed seeds

  • ½ tsp sumac

  • 2 x bay leaves

  • 1 sprig rosemary

  • Venison fillet or haunch

Pickled Onions:

  • 1 kg white Wine Vinegar

  • 500g caster sugar

  • 600g water

  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds

  • 1tsp peppercorn

  • ½ onion sliced

  • 2 sprigs thyme

  • 2 onions, thinly sliced

Venison fat croutons:

  • yesterday’s bread

  • venison fat

  • rapeseed oil

Sauce Gribiche:

  • 40g egg yolk

  • 1 tbsp English mustard

  • 1 tbsp cider vinegar

  • 120ml rapeseed oil

  • 2 x 8min boiled eggs, grated

  • 2 tsp capers, chopped

  • 1 large gherkin, finely diced

  • 1 handful of chives and parsley, finely chopped

METHOD

  1. For the venison cure, gently toast the clove and hogweed seeds, then blend with the other dry ingredients to a powder and fold in the salt and sugar.

  2. To prep the venison, trim off the sinew, break down into individual muscles if using haunch, cover each muscle with the cure. After 3/4 hours on cure, wash and pat the meat dry. Before you need to chop the Venison for tartare place in freezer for 30 mince to assist with a perfect dice.

  3. For the onion pickle, combine all ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil, then cool and strain. This makes a large batch so whenever you need to pickle anything your base pickle is ready to go. To pickle 2 onions, bring 500ml pickle to the boil with the sliced onions, cover with a lid and leave to cool.

  4. For the croutons, dice yesterday's bread into 1cm cubes then toast with rendered Venison fat and a little rapeseed oil

  5. For the gribiche, make a thick mayonnaise with the first 4 ingredients, season with salt and more vinegar if needed, stir through remaining ingredients.