A wild twist on classic pulled pork. This recipe for slow cooked venison shoulder combines deep gamey flavours with smoky barbecue and is a real crowd-pleaser. Slow-cooking the pulled venison is well worth the wait - pile high in soft bread rolls and top with pickles, slaw or slow cooked onions.
Take your venison shoulder out of its packaging and leave to one side for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking to allow for it to come up to room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 170ºC. Whilst the oven is preheating, carefully slash the skin side of the shoulder diagonally with a sharp knife.
Rub the paprika, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper and oil into the skin of the shoulder before placing on top of the quartered onions in a casserole dish.
Now add in the rest of the ingredients, ensuring you give it all a good mix and that the venison shoulder has been coated in the sauce.
Cover the dish and place in the oven leaving it to slowly cook for around 4 hours.
Once the venison shoulder has finished cooking it should be falling off the bone and the sauce would have reduced and be sticky in consistency. Using two forks, pull the meat off the bone, being sure to shred it whilst you do it. Remove any bones and then mix the meat in with the sauce.
Serve the barbecue pulled venison in bread rolls with a generous helping of sauce and your favourite accompaniments.
The venison shank in this show-stopping dish is beautifully tender, with intense flavour. It is paired with a lovely creamy horseradish mash and pan-fried bacon cabbage; a medium-bodied red wine such as Pinot Noir would wash it down very nicely!
