Eland stew
Eland slowly simmered with carrots, tomato and bay in a lightly thickened sauce without salted stock.
Ingredients
- 800 g boneless eland shoulder, in 4 cm cubes
- 20 g rapeseed oil
- 300 g sliced onions
- 400 g chopped tomatoes without added salt
- 300 g carrots cut into chunks
- 10 g chopped garlic
- 15 g wheat flour
- 600 g hot water
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 g dried thyme
- 1 g ground black pepper
- 4 g fine salt
Preparation
During the 30 min preparation, weigh every ingredient, peel the carrots and cut the shoulder into even cubes. Remove tough membranes and any fragments without removing all the connective tissue that will give the sauce body. Pat the meat dry and keep refrigerated until searing begins. Prepare a heavy lidded casserole, a spatula and a clean vegetable board separate from the raw-game board.
Heat the oil and sear the eland in two batches for 12 min in total. Turn cubes to brown several sides without trying to cook them through. Set aside in a cooking container that will not be used for final service. Add onions to the casserole and stir for 8 min over medium heat; they should soften and turn golden without burning the cooking juices.
Add garlic, flour and pepper, stir to coat the onions, then gradually incorporate tomatoes and hot water. Scrape the base with the spatula to dissolve brown juices, never blackened patches. Return the meat and add carrots, thyme, bay and the 4 g salt. Allow 10 min to build the sauce and return to a simmer; liquid should surround the cubes without drowning them excessively.
Cover and simmer very gently for 1 h 45 min, stirring carefully and checking the level every 30 min. Add just a little water if the bottom threatens to catch. Reach at least 70 °C in the centre for 2 min, then continue until a fork enters the eland easily. Older meat may need longer; reaching a safe temperature does not yet mean tenderness.
Remove the bay and check the largest cubes. If tender, uncover and reduce for about 5 min until the sauce coats a spoon without becoming pasty. If the meat still resists, first extend covered cooking before reducing and adjust the stated total time. Divide meat, carrots and sauce evenly among four warm plates. Do not automatically thicken further: the sauce gains body as it cools.