Belgian wild boar or deer stew

With Autumn (Fall) at the door, and wild-season starting, I'd like to share an alternate recipe using Deer or Wild Boar and red wine. It's different then your regular Belgian Stew, but it's bloody delicious. A good stew takes time. A lot of time to merge all the flavours.

Stew of wild boar or deer

• Large, heavy casserole
• Large skillet / frying pan (Stainless steel, no anti-sticky-coated pans!!)
• 1.5 kg wild boar / deer ragout
• 4 thick slices of smoked bacon (min 0.5 cm)
• 250 g wild mushroom (brown)
• 3 large onions
• 1 bottle of red wine
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsps blueberry jam
• 2 slices of gingerbread
• 1 tbsp (sharp) mustard
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 5 juniper berries
• 10 black peppercorns
• Bayleaf
• (fresh) thyme

Heat butter in a large casserole. Coarsely chop the onions and caramelize (do not burn!) in the casserole. Cut smoked bacon into 0.5cm cubes and fry in a large frying pan until golden crispy without butter or oil, it will grease the pan itself. Cut the mushrooms into quarters and add to the frying pan. Fry for a few minutes and add to the casserole. Turn down heat on casserole. DO NOT CLEAN THE FRYING PAN! Melt butter in it and sear the meat a few minutes on all sides, then add to the casserole. Don't do too much at once, otherwise the pan cools down too hard. I bake 1.5kg meat in 3 times. Just add a little butter and roast a new batch. Tie a few branches of fresh thyme and bay leaves together and add to the stew. Sprinkle flour in the stew and stir. Glaze the frying pan with a full bottle of red wine and stir loose all the delicious pieces of bacon and meat sticking to it. Let it simmer a few minute and add to the stew. Crush the spices (juniper berries, cloves and peppercorns) with a mortar and put them in a (tea) infuser (looks like an egg) or pouch (eg coffee filter) and add to the stew together with stick of cinnamon. Cut gingerbread into cubes and add together with blueberry jam and mustard. Put lid on the pot and let simmer on low heat (or in an oven at ± 140 °) for about two hours. Stir occasionally.

Serve with mashed potatoes, braised chicory and caramelized apple slices (with cranberries?)! Tasty!

(first time writing something like this, so might need to edit a bit for formatting)

bon appetit