VENISON:
In my opinion, the tastiest venison comes from Sika. Sika venison is a little
different to Red, Roe and Fallow and has more fat within the muscle tissue, resulting in a
more moist meat when cooking. The next best eating is from an August shot , young or
middle aged Red stag off the hill. It's all a matter of taste of course, and many folk
prefer the more delicate and finer grained Roe deer venison. It never ceases to surprise
me how little most of the general public in the UK know about venison and most restaurants
and Hotels are usually in the same category. I have yet to eat a decent meal of venison in
a Hotel or restaurant - they usually overcook the meat , roast it off the bone (and
therefore dry it out) or drown the flavours with fancy sauces.
I usually roast the saddle and the haunches (for all species). The front shoulders
and neck are boned out for stew or burgers. Venison meat makes the most superb curry -
something which many folk may not have tried!
Deer should always be hung in the skin in a cool dry airy shed. In summer time, I
seldom hang a beast longer than 3 or 4 days and in winter 5 or 6 days. A lot depends on
how dry the weather is outside because humidity is a real enemy and enables bacteria to
quickly make the meat go 'off' .
As ever, the best recipe for roast
venison is the simplest. Preheating the oven is crucial. I prefer slow roasting at gas
Mark 3 (325 deg. F.) 170 deg.C. Take the haunch or saddle and stab a short knife about a
dozen times into the meat - make the incisions fairly deep and press some lard (beef
dripping) into these holes. For good measure, I then take some warm lard and rub it all
over the meat, at the same time adding 5 or 6 crushed cloves of garlic. Place the joint
onto a grill which keeps the meat clear of the base of the roasting tin and add a cup or
two of water. Then place a generous sheet of foil over the meat and tuck the foil into the
inner sides of the roasting tin so that fluids cannot evaporate . (Don't fully wrap the
meat - the juices can run into the base of the pan and therefore keep the meat bathed in
moisture). Allow 45 minutes per pound plus 40 minutes for joints up to 6 lb . For
joints over 7 lb , make that 35 minutes per pound plus 40 minutes. Check the meat about
half way through the cooking time and more frequently thereafter. A skewer pressed through
to the bone should have clear juices running out of the meat on withdrawal. About 20
minutes before the end, I like to take the foil off, run off the gravy and roast the meat
just to crisp up the outside.
That gravy usually tastes utterly superb and a teaspoonful of redcurrent jelly with
some fresh ground pepper is all the seasoning that is needed with a little thickening.
The big mistake most folk is when carving the meat. I wait until people are sitting
and ready and then start carving. As soon as I carve enough for one serving on a heated
dinner plate , I pour the hot thin gravy over the meat and tell folk not to wait but to
get stuck in! If you leave the meat sitting, it will dry before your very eyes and will be
spoiled. A little red currant jelly is nice with the meat.
Cold roast venison tastes quite different. Leave the joint to cool right down and
then carve when cold. Use some of that gravy at room temperature to accompany the meat and
you have a meal fit for a King
IF YOU HAVE ANY RECIPES RELATED TO UK QUARRY, THEN CONTACT ME! ALL DUE ACKNOWLEDGMENT
WILL BE GIVEN.
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