Venison Bolognese
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup minced onion
- 1 cup minced carrot
- 1 cup minced celery
- 2 pounds Venison ground venison
- 1 ounce dried mushrooms, reconstituted in 2 cups hot water, drained, and chopped, soaking water reserved
- One (6-oz) can tomato paste
- 1 cup venison broth, beef broth or water
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup milk, preferably whole
- 1/2 nutmeg, grated or 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Pasta, for serving
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
- In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
- Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook gently without browning, stirring often and reducing heat if necessary, until softened, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle a little salt over the vegetables as they cook.
- When the vegetables have softened, stir in the drained chopped mushrooms and tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until the tomato paste begins to darken, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the ground meat, the mushroom soaking water, and the broth or water.
- Bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to ever so gently simmer, uncovered and stirring every great once in a while, until the liquid has mostly evaporated, 1 to 2 hours, depending on just how briskly your Bolognese is simmering.
- Pour in the wine and continue to cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the wine has mostly evaporated, 45 to 60 minutes.
- Add the milk, nutmeg, and black pepper and stir well.
- Bring back to a simmer and add salt to taste.
- Simmer gently until thickened, about 30 minutes more.
- When you add the milk to the sauce, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add enough salt to make it taste like the sea.
- Once the sauce has thickened, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until it is al dente.
- To serve, place the pasta in a large bowl and add a healthy ladle overflowing with sauce and gently toss to combine.
- Portion out the pasta and then top each with another ladle’s worth (or more) of Bolognese sauce.
- Grate the cheese over the top and serve.
