ROE DEER VENISON
Noisettes of roe deer with a bitter chocolate, orange and
port sauce Serves six
This utterly delicious traditional rich dark sauce for venison is of ancient Italian origins. It has a hint of chocolate added at the end – just enough to enrich the sauce without overpowering it. The secret of this sauce is to make a really good stock from the saddle bones. It’s delicious served with a root vegetable mash, or you could also try it with potato gnocchi.
1 saddle of roe deer venison (about 2.5-3kg), boned and trimmed, bones reserved 1 large sprig of fresh thyme 100ml good olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 celery stick, chopped 2 carrots, sliced 1 clove garlic, crushed 8 juniper berries 50g plain fl our 200ml Guinness, Newcastle Brown Ale or other really dark beer 100ml port 750ml beef or game stock 1 strip of orange zest 50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or more) Salt and freshly ground black pepper Root vegetable mash, to serve
Method: Preheat the oven to 220˚C/425˚F/gas mark 7. Slice the venison into thick noisettes or small
thick medallions (about 3cm thick) and place in a shallow dish. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, then add the thyme and sprinkle with a little olive oil. Cover and chill. Chop up the bones if you can and put into a
large heavy roasting pan along with any venison trimmings. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes until beginning to brown, then add the chopped vegetables, garlic and juniper berries. Roast for another 10-15 minutes until all tinged with brown. Remove from the oven and tip the bones and vegetables into a saucepan. Stir in the fl our. Pour the beer and port into the roasting pan, bring to the boil and scrape up all the sticky bits from the bottom of the pan. Tip this into the saucepan, pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer very gently for an hour (or more if you have the time). Strain through a fi ne sieve and set aside. Heat a heavy frying pan until smoking hot and
sear the noisettes for about 2 minutes per side, making sure they stay rosy pink in the middle. Remove from the pan to rest and keep warm while you fi nish the sauce. Deglaze the frying pan with the strained stock.
Add the orange zest and boil hard to reduce until syrupy. Remove the orange zest and stir in the chocolate and swirl around until it melts into the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the noisettes with the sauce and root vegetable mash.
FIELD
FACTS For a special offer on 7 Days in Scotland: Roe Deer and Recipes for Scottish Field readers, see page 193. www.highland
game.com
‘A hint of chocolate is added at the end – just enough to enrich the sauce without overpowering it’
t Wine
o dine
Wine expert David Austin of Reuben’s Wine Store in Dunfermline selects three wines to accompany Maxine Clark’s dishes.
STEINBERG RIESLING SPÄTLESE, RHEINGAU,GERMANY, £27.99 Roe deer venison is more delicately fl avoured than red deer venison and an exotic German Spätlese Riesling is a great match. The acidity of the noble grape cuts through the smokiness of the venison, while the apple and horseradish brings out the sweetness and nutty nuances of the wine.
BEST’S GREAT WESTERN PINOT NOIR, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, £18.99
Left: The roe deer is served with root vegetable mash and a rich, deep sauce fl avoured with chocolate.
Roast venison does not like a wine with too much tannin, so a red burgundy or a pinot noir from the new world would be a superb match. Best’s have grown pinot noir vines at their Concongela vineyard since 1866 and have some of the oldest pinot vines in the world. Bursting with wild raspberry and strawberry fl avours, this wine enhances all the rich gamey characteristics of this classic dish.
MUNGO PARK SINGLE VINEYARD SHIRAZ, BAROSSA, AUSTRALIA, £23.99 This stunning Shiraz is made from gnarled vines that are at least eighty-years-old and may have been around for a whole century, and which are located at the famous Marananga vineyards in the Barossa valley. Big juicy bramble fruit fl avours, hints of dark chocolate and gentle spice bring out the richness of the meat and the subtle infl uences of the port and orange.
Reuben’s Wine Store, 14 New Row, Dunfermline, 01383 731475,
www.reubenswinestore.com
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 119
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