Roast Haunch of Venison

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If I want to not default on my New Year's resolutions straight away, I better get posting.

This year I decided not to do the quintessential turkey for our Christmas Dinner and after some deliberating on what to do instead, it was the butcher that decided for me, by having venison haunches on offer. Perfect!

I apologise for the bad photo, but Christmas Dinner in our house is all about the sitting down together and having a good chat and a laugh, so there was no time for faffing about with my camera and I just got a quick shot of my brother carving in the kitchen. It really doesn't do it justice, but I guess you all know what a roast joint looks like anyways.

I chose a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe, as when it comes to meat (or most other foods) the man knows what he's doing. I did marinate the venison in buttermilk for 24 hours before preparing it. That removes some of the gamyness and also helps to keep it moist and tender.



















Roast Haunch of Venison (serves 8-10)

1 haunch of venison, tunnel-boned
Salt and black pepper
6 fresh bay leaves
3 large sprigs thyme or rosemary (I used rosemary)
10-12 rashers streaky bacon

For the gravy

½ glass red wine
250ml game stock
Redcurrant jelly

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7.

Season the haunch, and lay the bay leaves and thyme or rosemary over the meat. Place bacon over the herbs, covering the meat, and secure the package with butcher's string - you might find it helpful to use skewers to hold the fat in place while you work.

Weigh the joint. Place the joint in a large roasting tray and, if it's under 2kg, roast for 20 minutes, or 30 minutes if it's over 2kg. This 'sizzle' browns the joint beautifully. Turn down the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3 and roast for a further 12 minutes per 500g of meat. This should give you medium-rare meat: just pink in the middle.

While the meat is resting, make the gravy.

Skim off any fat from the juices in the roasting tin, then put the tin over a low heat, add the wine to deglaze, stirring well and scraping up all the bits of caramelised meat stuck to the bottom of the tin.

Add the stock and boil to reduce and concentrate the sauce. When the gravy has reached your required level of intensity, season and stir in a little redcurrant jelly. That hint of sweetness and sharpness is a perfect foil to the richness of the venison.

Carve the rested meat and serve with the strained gravy.

Enjoy!