Lamb and venison champvallon
- Preparation 45 min
- Cooking 1 h 30 min
- Servings 4 to 6
- Freezing Absolutely
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🦌 The hearty dish for cold nights
Tender venison and lamb, caramelized onions, a broth that smells like amber beer, and a thick layer of golden overlapping potatoes on top. It’s a dish for fall, for Christmas, for the holidays, for cold weather, for après-ski, for treating yourself. You pull it out of the oven, set the dish in the middle of the table and nobody talks anymore. It’s just downright indulgent.
🍺 The beer isn’t there to taste like beer
It’s there for its spices, its flavors, the aromas that rise up into the dish. You can make this champvallon with just broth and it works too. The cumin and rosemary do the rest. If you don’t have venison, use beef, but I really suggest the venison: it’s delicious. Venison and lamb balance each other well, and neither one dominates.
📖 Where this recipe comes from
The first time I ate a champvallon was at a restaurant, and it was really, really good. I told myself right away that I needed my own version. It’s in my first cookbook. As for the name, it’s told two ways: it’s tied either to the court of Louis XIV or to a village in Burgundy. I don’t know which one is true, but it never stopped anyone from eating the potatoes. And if you’re looking for a cousin, my braised wild boar shanks with beer are in the same spirit.
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🧂 Salt well, it’s game meat
The trap with this dish is not salting enough. Venison and lamb need to be well seasoned, otherwise everything tastes flat despite the onions and cumin. Salt the onions, salt the meat as it browns, salt the top generously before covering, and taste the broth before you pour it in.
🔪 Use a mandoline for the potatoes
I slice the potatoes on a mandoline, at 4 mm. Even slices cook evenly, and the overlapping pattern holds. At the end, press hard on the top layer to compact everything, or the liquid won’t climb all the way up.
🍺 No reducing the beer
I deglaze with the beer, scrape the bottom of the pan, and that’s it: I don’t let it reduce. It’s there for its spices and aromas, not to taste like beer. You can replace it with beef broth and the dish is still very good.
🦌 Venison, or beef if you must
No venison on hand? Use cubed beef, but if you can get venison, get it: it’s really what makes this dish.
📅 Prep ahead
Do the prep work: slice the onions, chop the garlic, rosemary and thyme, cube the meat, measure the cumin, and keep everything in labeled containers. Slice the potatoes at the last minute, since they darken quickly in the air. And the dish is served with a spoon, not in neat slices: that’s normal.
❄️ Storage
Leftovers keep 3 to 5 days in the fridge. It freezes absolutely, though the potato top may change a little after thawing. That’s fine. I reheat everything in the oven, covered, never in the microwave.
✅ What to serve with my beer champvallon
A well-seasoned green salad cuts the richness: my white balsamic arugula salad does the job nicely, and so does my fennel, orange and black olive salad. And some rustic bread, so nothing stays on the plate.
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Beer Champvallon
- 6 tbsp (90 ml) olive oil (approx.)
- 2 red onions, thinly sliced
- 1 lb (450 g) venison shoulder, cubed
- 1 lb (450 g) lamb shoulder, cubed
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground cumin
- 1 ½ cups (375 ml) strong amber beer (or beef broth)
- Butter (to grease the dish) + 2 tbsp (30 ml) cut into cubes
- 3 large Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼ inch (4 mm) thick
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 to 2 cups (250 to 500 ml) beef broth
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
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Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- In a large skillet over medium-low heat, pour about 5 tbsp (75 ml) of olive oil and add the onions. Season with salt and pepper, then let them slowly caramelize for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently (they should soften but not brown. Lower the heat if needed). Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over high heat, add 1 tbsp (15 ml) of olive oil and sear the venison and lamb cubes in small batches for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until nicely browned. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the meat to a bowl, add the cumin, and toss well. Set aside.
- Return the empty skillet to the heat, deglaze with the beer, and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom to capture the flavor. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Butter a large 9-inch (23 cm) round baking dish and arrange half of the potato slices in an overlapping pattern to cover the bottom. Spread half the meat over the potatoes and add half of the caramelized onions. Layer the remaining meat, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and onions, then pour in the beer. Cover with the remaining potatoes (again in an overlapping pattern), pressing down to compact everything.
- Pour in enough beef broth so the liquid just reaches the top layer of potatoes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter the butter cubes over the surface, cover the dish, and place it on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 1 hour. Remove the cover and continue baking for another 30 minutes to brown the potatoes nicely. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Champvallon is an oven dish made of seared meat, caramelized onions and sliced potatoes layered in an overlapping pattern, covered with broth and baked until the top is golden. The name is told two ways: the court of Louis XIV or a village in Burgundy.
Yes, with just beef broth. The beer isn’t there to taste like beer: it brings spices and aromas, and the dish is still very good without it.
Cubed beef. I still suggest venison, it’s really delicious, and it balances very well with the lamb.
Absolutely. The potato top may change a little after thawing, but that’s fine. Reheat it in the oven, covered.
A well-seasoned green salad, like my white balsamic arugula salad, and rustic bread for the juices.
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