Pullman Brown Ale Braised Venison

This dish came to fruition through my quest to find great beers for cooking. Often times the beers I truly enjoy to drink do not work well in the kitchen and cooking with wine isn't exactly ground-breaking. I prefer full flavored beers that tend to be on the bitter side of things and cooking intensifies these qualities. So the first time I had the Flossmoor Station's Pullman Brown Ale, I was pretty sure I found a dual purposed ale. The earthy sweetness of this unusually robust brown lends itself well to reduction, which makes it a great choice for use in sauces, poaching & braising. For this play on beef burgundy, I made use of the delicious Indiana Venison roast in my freezer (although you could certainly use beef or pork if you do not have access to fresh game).

Here's what I did. Preheat oven to 350°. Chop the meat into manageable pieces, season with salt & pepper & brown on all sides in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Work in shifts so you do not crowd the pan & remove to a plate once browned. After all of the meat has been browned, pour two 22oz. bottles of Flossmoor Station's Pullman Brown Ale into the dutch oven & scrape up all of the tasty brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat & allow beer to simmer for about 20 minutes. Add Venison to the simmering brown, along with one onion, one carrot and one stock of celery (all roughly chopped), as well as two bay leaves, 6 springs of thyme, one spring of rosemary & one table spoon of black pepper corn. Cover & place in the oven for two and a half hours. After the two and a half hours have elapsed, remove meat from dutch oven & strain liquid into a pan. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat & allow to simmer until the liquid has reduced to half - about a half an hour. Whisk in a table spoon of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Return Venison to sauce & bring back to heat. Serve over egg noodles with plenty of the reduced braising liquid & a pinch of fresh herbs (such as thyme, parsley or basil). This could also be served alongside your favorite roasted veggies or something of the like.

And what better beverage for accompaniment than the Pullman Brown that brought this whole dish together.