Venison Ragu

One of my favorite venison dishes to make is venison ragu. This is a very popular venison dish and is always a crowd-pleaser.

However, I should preface this by saying this is a “real” ragu recipe, there are many half-effort recipes out there for ragu, but in my opinion, these are underwhelming at best.

This ragu recipe is for a multi-layered and flavored ragu, if that’s what you want then you won’t be disappointed.

Before I start, I want to note that this is an overall ragu recipe, if you want specifically a bolognese, then see my bolognese recipe.

All bolognese are ragu, but not all ragu’s are bolognese. Bolognese is a ragu originating from Bologna Italy.

I hope that clears things up a little.

Ingredients

As I mentioned above, some ragu recipes have a handful of ingredients. but it’s impossible to make a worthwhile ragu with so few ingredients.

This recipe uses a moderate amount of ingredients, but when you taste the finished product you will know why.

I will highlight some of the more prominent ingredients and the role they play in this ragu to help you get a better understanding.

Venison

Although this is a ground venison dish, and technically any ground venison will work I like to use either round or sirloin for this recipe.

These are good quality cuts with nice grain and grind well.

I like to grind venison for ragu using the large plate, this gives the dish a classic rustic feel.

Pork Belly

When grinding the venison I like to grind in 5% of fatty pork belly. 

Venison is a lean red meat, and adding the pork belly not only adds to the flavor but helps keep the dish from drying out.

Pancetta

This is one of the secret ingredients for my venison ragu. Pancetta offers a huge amount of flavor and enhancement to this dish.

While you could use bacon it’s typically smoked and would not work for this recipe.

It’s also worth noting that pancetta is a naturally concentrated source of glutamic and inosinic acids, also known as MSG.

Wine

Now we are getting into the heated discussion part of every ragu and bolognese.

Do you add wine or not? Red wine or white wine? Dry wine or sweet wine?

These are questions I hear over and over again and there are so many variations out there.

I always like to use wine in my ragu. 

In reality, it doesn’t matter what color wine you use. However, the wine should be a dry wine.

The wine is used to balance the flavor, add to the complexity, and deepen the flavor of the dish.

I tend to prefer red wine with venison and for this recipe, I use red wine, for my bolognese recipe I use white wine.

Milk and Cream

Next on the hotly debated list is milk and or cream. Many people swear by them, and for others they are taboo.

For many, they completely transform the dish.

Using milk in this recipe makes the dish much silkier and well-rounded. The milk elevates the flavor profile of both the meat and the sauce.

The cream is added at the end to balance the dish. Ragus can often be quite sharp and cream helps to tone it down.

Stock

The stock you use for this recipe is optional, but if you have venison stock I encourage you to use it.

If you don’t have venison stock, you can use this recipe to make your own at home.

If you are using beef or chicken stock you may find that the sauce will come out a bit thinner.

The gelatine in my homemade venison stock binds the sauce to make it smooth and silky.

Also, if you are using commercial stock make sure it is low sodium, as these stocks are often quite salty.

Tomatoes

Most types of tinned tomatoes will work for this recipe.

However, some tomatoes can be a bit sharp, this shouldn’t present too much of a problem as the cream, milk, and wine will solve that as I mentioned above.

Although, if possible I encourage you to seek out some good San Marzano tomatoes if possible.

Fish Sauce

You are probably thinking did I read that right?

Yes, you did read that right. Fish sauce is my second secret ingredient, and no it’s not traditional in a ragu.

I mentioned earlier how pancetta has natural MSG flavoring, well, the fish sauce brings even more.

It’s common in Italy to use fermented anchovies or other glutamate-rich seafood for enhancing dishes, using this sauce is a quick and easy way to enhance the flavor of this dish.

A hat tip to Chef Kenji Lopez for this tip.

Instructions

The ingredient list may come across as a little overwhelming but putting it all together is not that difficult.

Grind the venison and pork belly

Cut the venison into 1 or 2-inch cubes, and dice the pork belly into small cubes.

Ideally, these should be cold to get the best texture.

Pass them through the grinder with a large plate.

If you are unsure about grinding venison, then see my article “How to grind venison“

Brown the Venison

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add some olive oil and heat until it shimmers.

To brown the venison add it in batches. Adding too much at once will crowd the pan and sweat rather than brown.

Season the venison with salt and pepper as you brown it.

When all of the venison is browned remove it from the heat and set aside.

Preparing the Veg and pancetta

Next is the veg and pancetta.

Heat a pan over low-medium heat and add the butter.

Once the butter melts add the pancetta and lightly cook, rendering the fat.

Add the onions and garlic and continue to cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the carrots, celery, and half of the parsley, and cook for another 6 minutes.

The vegetables should be soft, but not browned.

Putting it together

Bring the Dutch oven back to the heat and increase to high.

The venison will have release liquid that you will now reduce.

Add the cooked veg and pancetta to the pot and stir while the liquid reduces.

Add the wine and reduce by about 3/4.

Add the milk, stock, tomatoes, fish sauce, sage, and bay leaves.

Stir and then move to a preheated oven at 300F

Finishing

Cook the ragu for about four hours in the oven uncovered, and stirring occasionally.

After 4 hours the liquid should be reduced to a silky sauce.

Remove from the oven and stir in the cream and remaining parsley.

Place back on the stove and bring to a simmer while stirring to emulsify.

Serving

Ragu can be served with any pasta and is commonly served with pappardelle or pene.

When cooking the pasta retain a half cup of the pasta water to mix with the ragu.

The starch in the water will hold the sauce together and emulsify it.

Storing

This venison ragu will hold well in the freezer for up to a week if kept in an airtight container.

You can also freeze it in batches and it will hold for 6+ months.