Saddle of Venison

tyringham hall

March 16th, 2012

I had a really interesting day out yesterday. In the morning I saw the fabulous David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy (thanks to Audrey) and in the afternoon/evening I visited Sean at a stately pile in Buckinghamshire.

deer park

I did volunteer (ad nauseum) to shoot a whole deer and roast it in a pit, as you can see, there were deer to hand and a cupboard full of guns…

saddle of venison

Instead, I was presented with a saddle of venison, so I shut up and got on with the job of cooking it!

cross section

There’s very little fat on venison, so adding fat helps with the cooking and flavour. It’s quite common to wrap venison joints in bacon or barding fat.

roasted

I browned the saddle in smoking hot goose fat, on the hob before roasting in a hotish oven for a fairly short period of time. I suggest seasoning with a little salt and pepper and a cooking time of 20 minutes plus 10 minutes per pound at 225º C. If you add a glass of red wine and a splash of red wine vinegar, about half way through, it blends with the juices for gravy. Venison should be served rare (or at the very least pink) – if it’s cooked for too long it will become tough.

roast potatoes

Rest the joint in some foil for up to half an hour, while finishing off the roast potatoes and cooking the vegetables – I did carrots and spring greens. I also prepared some vegetable stock beforehand to mix with the juices and make gravy.

rested

When rested, stir any juice and blood that has come out of the joint into the gravy.

sliced

Carve and serve with some robust red wine, such as Carta Roja from the Jumilla wine region in Spain.

Other Venison posts