Monday, August 27, 2018

Venison in Port

The supermarkets have lots of venison at the moment and this is one of our favourite ways to cook it. We know it is traditional to tenderise the venison in buttermilk, but we find that this softens it too much. The port works very well indeed to tenderise the meat; it does not taste too sweet when roasted and it isn’t necessary to use an expensive, old bottle. You do need to start this a day or two before you plan to cook it, because it does need to marinate for at least 24 hours or longer

A small leg of venison (Springbok) 1.5 to 2kg – a bottle of red port - 1 tablespoon wine vinegar - 1 sliced onion - 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon crushed Juniper Berries - 2 crushed cloves of garlic - a large sprig of thyme or marjoram - ground black pepper – salt – strips of bacon or beef fat

Pour the port over the venison in a deep china or glass bowl and marinate with all the ingredients (except the bacon or fat) for at least 24–36 hours. Dry off the meat and roast, covering the roast with some strips of fat to protect it. Venison is a very lean meat and does need protecting or it will dry out. You can use the marinade (strained) to make delicious gravy to serve with the roast. Traditionally, it is served with matchstick potatoes, and good winter vegetables like roast parsnips, butternut and some green peas

No comments: