Serves: 6
Preparation time: Overnight marinating
Cooking Time: 1 hour plus 10 mins resting time
Ingredients for the Venison
(see links for ingredients & method for Roast Potatoes, Leeks in Creamy White Sauce and Garlic & Olive Oil pan-fried Savoy Cabbage)
- 1kg boneless venison haunch
- 750ml good quality full-bodied red wine
- 2 medium onions, chopped into quarters
- 1-2tsp black peppercorns
- 1tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3tsp redcurrant jelly
- 3-4 cloves
- 1-2tbsp olive oil
- a big dollop of lightly salted butter (ca. 20-30g)
- 2tsp white sugar
Method for the Venison
- Place the wine, onions, black peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves, cloves and redcurrant jelly into a medium bowl
- Add the venison joint
- Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge to marinate overnight
Tip: It’s unlikely the venison will be completely covered by the wine, so do this early enough that you can turn the venison over after a few hours of marinating before you leave it for the night, then turn it over again in the morning.
- When you’re ready to cook the venison, heat 1tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and sear the venison all over in the hot olive oil, seasoning lightly with salt as you go along.
- Place the seared venison into a roasting dish.
- In the frying pan you used to sear the venison, fry off the onions for a couple of minutes, then add them to the roasting dish with the venison.
- Pour the wine with the cloves, thyme, bay leaves, redcurrant jelly and peppercorns over the venison.
- Cover with tinfoil and place in a pre-heated oven at 180°C (fan-assisted…if you’re using a non-fan oven, use a slightly higher temperature) for an hour, turning the venison over halfway through cooking and re-covering.
Tip: I like my venison very rare (nice and red inside!), but for a medium-rare cooking, it is usually recommended to cook it for 20mins per 450g plus 20mins. I’ve gone for 20 mins per 500g plus 20 mins.
- Take the venison out of the cooking juices and place it in the tinfoil, wrapping it tightly so it will stay warm while it’s resting.
- Lift the onions out of the juice with a slotted spoon and set them aside.
- Place the rest of the juices into the frying pan you used to sear the venison (you can strain the juices if you prefer, but if it’s for a family meal, you can just pick out the cloves etc on the plate when you’re eating).
- Add 2tsp of white sugar and a sprinkling of salt, add the butter, then boil on a high heat until it reduces down to about half the volume and is a thick velvety jus (sauce). Add the onions to the jus to give them a glossy coating before returning them to a serving dish to serve as a side to the meat.
Serve the venison with redcurrant jelly, a bit of jus and an accompaniment of vegetables and roast potatoes.
Gloriously Good!
