Hirschpfeffer venison ragout with celery pouches & pointed cabbage

Ingredients for 4 people
Venison ragout:
800 g of venison shoulder cut into uniform cubes
400 ml pinot noir (Pinot Noir)
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 tablespoon allspice
2 bay leaves
1 tsp peppercorns
1 carrot
1/2 celeriac
1 l game stock (alternatively veal stock)
Cornstarch

Celery pouches:
1 celeriac
150 g coarse sea salt
Filling as desired, e.g. mashed potatoes
10 g dried lovage powder
20 g clarified butter
Pepper
Nutmeg

Pointed cabbage:
1/2 pointed cabbage
20 g hazelnuts
Clarified butter for frying
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg

Garnish:
200 g pancetta cut into strips
100 g toast bread
1/2 bunch of chives
1 clove fresh garlic

Preparation
Venison ragout:
Place the sliced venison shoulder in a container.
Lightly toast the spices in a pan to activate the essential oils.
Add the pinot noir and roasted spices to the venison shoulder, mix well and let mature in the wine, well covered, for at least 6 days.
Next, separate the meat from the marinade. Boil the marinade separately in a saucepan so that the protein separates from the wine.
Put the venison stock, the boiled wine and the venison shoulder in a pot and simmer with the lid on for at least 1 hour, depending on the size of the pieces of meat. Note: Each portion of venison varies in texture, so it may take a little longer.
Once the meat is tender, scoop out of the stock.
Cut the celery and carrot into small cubes, add to the stock and simmer gently for another 15 minutes.
To thicken, mix cornstarch with a sip of red wine, stir into stock and bring to a boil.
Return the cooked meat to the sauce.

Celery pouches:
Rinse off the celery.
Place the sea salt on a baking sheet and place the whole celery on top.
Bake in the oven at 180°C for about 1 1/4 hours, depending on the size of the celery. Allow the celery to cool and peel.
Slice the celery about into approx. 1-2 mm slices (ideally with a meat slicer) and cut out round slices like coins.
Place the cut out celery coins on a work surface and place the mashed potatoes in the centre of the coins. Fold the celery coins in half and press the ends. Thanks to the celery’s high starch content, these will hold without binding substances.

Pointed cabbage:
Cut the pointed cabbage into fine strips.
Roast the hazelnuts in a pan, then peel and lightly grind them.
Melt some clarified butter in a frying pan.
Add the pointed cabbage and toss briefly.
Add the hazelnuts and serve immediately.

Garnish:
Cut the toast bread into cubes.
Finely chop the chives.
Finely dice the garlic.
Put the pancetta in a pan and fry until crisp
Set the cooked pancetta aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
Fry the bread cubes in the grease until crispy and add some garlic. Once the croutons are ready, mix with the pancetta and stir in the fresh chives.
Place on top of the arranged venison ragout.

Recipe: Michael Tschanun, Aktiv & Spa Hotel Alpenrose in Schruns

Note:
As a filling for the celery pouches, a puree can be made from the celery pieces as an alternative to mashed potatoes.