Slow Cooked Deer Shoulder, Senegalese Style

Step 1

Line a roasting pan with lots of foil, overlapping so it's reasonably watertight. You will need to completely wrap the deer shoulder, so have enough foil to do that.

Step 2

Scatter the sliced onion and garlic cloves in the pan, then sprinkle with the thyme. Pour in the stock.

Step 3

Using a thin knife, stab the venison in various places and shove the batons of garlic inside. Coat the whole deer shoulder with the oil. Salt it well. Mix the mustard, cumin and black pepper together and smear this all over the deer shoulder, getting it into every crevice.

Step 4

Seal up the shoulder and set in a 200F oven. Roast until tender, which should take at least 3 hours, and as many as With normal deer, start checking after about 5 hours. You want the meat to lift off the bone easily.

Step 5

If you're making the sauce, do this while the venison cooks. Heat the peanut oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chopped onion until translucent, but not browned, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and chopped habanero chiles and cook another minute.

Step 6

Add the remaining sauce ingredients, mix well and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and puree in a blender. The sauce should be thick like ketchup.

Step 7

To serve, give everyone some deer shoulder with some of the juices from the pot, stewed onions and garlic, and serve with the tamarind kani sauce on the side. Crusty bread, rice or sweet potato-plantain fritters are a good accompaniment.