How to Cook WILD VENISON SADDLE, HONEY & SPICE

  • Prep time
  • Cook time
  • Difficulty medium
  • Serves 6
roasted venison with honey and spices

Ingredients

  • VENISON ROAST
  • 1kg Rolled saddle of Venison
  • Chicken schmaltz or Duck fat to roast
  • SAUCE
  • 1 x onion roughly diced
  • 1 x carrot roughly diced
  • 2 x sticks celery roughly diced
  • 1 x head garlic split
  • Few fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 x orange zest & juice separate
  • 500ml rich chicken or game stock
  • 75ml aged balsamic vinegar
  • 75ml liquid honey
  • Pinch of sea salt flakes
  • 2 x star anise
  • 1 x cinnamon stick
  • 10 x juniper berries crushed
  • 10 x black peppercorns crushed
  • Few sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 tsp. cornflour mixed with a little cold water

Method for Venison

  1. Preheat your oven to 180°C fan / 200°C gas mark 6
  2. Massage a little fat onto the joint then season with sea salt
  3. Heat a heavy based fry pan on top of the stove until smoking hot, add the venison and colour evenly all over
  4. Place the venison on top of the diced vegetables, orange zest, spices, thyme & garlic in a roasting tray then roast for 20 minutes until the meat reaches a core temperature of 54°C for medium rare
  5. Remove from the oven and keep warm by covering with a sheet of foil then rest for 15 minutes before carving, reserve the roast vegetables & spices for the sauce

Method for Sauce

  1. Mix the honey, orange juice & vinegar together
  2. Pour the honey mixture into the roasting tray with the vegetables & reduce to syrup.
  3. Add the stock & simmer for approximately 10 minutes until it starts to reduce & thicken
  4. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, bring back to simmer & thicken with a little corn flour mix
  5. Reduce until you achieve a rich glossy sauce ready for serving.

To Serve

Carve the venison into 5cm slices, serve this elegant roast with parsnip mash, parsnip crisps & Brussels sprouts finished with grated chestnut.