Open pulled venison and butternut chutney sandwich, by Madalene Bonvini-Hamel

(Serves six sandwiches; the chutney makes 2kg)

ingredients

For the pulled venison neck 1.4kg venison neck, bone in
2tbs rapeseed oil
1tsp coriander seeds
2 cloves of garlic
6 black peppercorns
6 white peppercorns
Maldon sea salt
6 juniper berries
2 large sprigs of rosemary

For the butternut chutney 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
100g fresh ginger
1 large onion, peeled
2 large red chillies, seeds removed
500g caster sugar
500ml cider vinegar
Seasoning
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
6 cardamom pods, toasted
750g butternut squash, peeled and 1cm diced
400g apple, peeled and 1cm diced
150g golden sultanas
300g plum tomatoes, peeled and roughly diced

Method
To prepare the venison, preheat a water bath to 82ºC. Season the meat and rub the oil over it, then lightly crush the juniper and coriander seeds with the garlic, and rub over the meat.

Place the venison neck with the rest of the ingredients into a vacuum bag, seal on hard vacuum, and cook in the water bath for 12 hours.

Remove the meat from the bag, remove the aromatics, use a fork to pull the venison meat off the bone and serve immediately.

If not serving immediately, cool the cooked venison in the unopened vacuum bag in iced water, and keep chilled until needed. To reheat place the bag in a preheated water bath for 1 hour, remove the meat onto a baking tray and cook in a preheated oven at 200ºC for 30 minutes to ensure it's piping hot. Use a fork to pull the meat off the bone and serve.

To prepare the butternut chutney, mince the garlic, ginger, onion and chillies in a food processor.

Measure the sugar and vinegar into a large saucepan; add the minced onion mix along with seasoning, cinnamon, star anise and cardamom pods.

Dissolve the sugar over a low heat, then bring it to a rapid boil, and after 5 minutes add the diced butternut squash, apples, sultanas and tomatoes. Bring back to the boil and cook until the chutney is thick, the apple has disintegrated and the butternut is soft but still has shape. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Transfer the chutney to a sterile container or jar and refrigerate until needed. Ideally you should leave the chutney for a week before using, as this helps the flavours to mature.

To serve, toast 6 slices of sourdough on a grill; rub the hot toast with a crushed clove of garlic, and season with Maldon sea salt. Place a generous amount of pulled venison on top, followed by watercress and a large spoonful of the butternut chutney. Serve immediately.