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Venison
Answer
Dear Susan
You are quite right to want to roast these legs whole, and your thoughts along the lines of roasting legs of lamb were a good starting point.
Venison is becoming increasingly popular these days as it is perceived as a healthier option. Having said that, it is invariably so lean that it needs a bit of a helping hand if a roast is not to end up dry and stringy.
Several points to observe:
Hopefully it was left to hang appropriately, but even if not, many people believe that the freezing process does venison joints enormous favours on the tenderising front so that is a good thing.
Marinating in an oil/acid marinade for 2-3 days, turning from time to time vastly improves the finished result.
Finally, although it seems a bit old-fashioned, `larding` - inserting strips of fat into the meat before roasting, rather in the manner of inserting garlic and rosemary sprigs into a leg of lamb - is another technique that can further help keep the joint moist and succulent. This is done particularly if you haven`t had the time or inclination to marinate the meat for a few days. A special larding needle can be purchased, or use an old but clean large sacking needle. Too much fiddle for me.
When being roasted in the Aga most meats, because of the indirect radiant heat of the cast iron oven, don`t need too much basting, but the exception is venison; a couple of times an hour is enough during any fast roasting period.
Here is my scaled-down and adapted version of a recipe that started out with Lady Claire McDonald`s fellow chef Peter Macpherson:
BRAISED VENISON
Marinade:
1/2 pt (300ml) sunflower oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 plump clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 pt (300ml) red wine
1/4 pt (150ml) red wine vinegar
2 1/2 fl oz (75ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
4 juniper berries, cracked in a pestle and mortar
6 black peppercorns, cracked in a pestle and mortar
2 bay leaves, broken into three
To Roast:
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 oz (50g) butter, preferably unsalted
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 carrots, roughly chopped
2 large parsnips, woody cores removed, and roughly chopped
2 cloves of plump garlic, crushed lightly as a bulb under a knife but left whole
1/2 pint (300ml) full cream milk
1 oz (25g) plain flour
1/4 pt (150ml) red wine
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large tablespoon of redcurrant jelly
Mix together all the marinade ingredients. Place the two legs of venison in a container that they will snugly fit, top to tail, so that as much of the marinade as possible will cover them. I am not a huge fan of marinating in plastic bags, but if you want to, that might work better. To guard against puncturing one and flooding your `fridge I would advise using one bag within another. Some people swear by American "Zip-lock" bags. I would probably swear at them as they are not my thing...
Leave in the `fridge to maridate for 2-3 days, turning a couple of times a day when you remember.
To roast, remove from the marinade and dry very thoroughly with kitchen paper. The marinade has done its job and may be discarded. Heat the oil and half the butter in an Aga roasting tin on the floor of the oven and add the legs. Turn every couple of minutes until they are browned all over - 10 minutes max. This minimises mess on the top of the cooker. Add the prepared vegetables and garlic around and under the meat and season well. Hang the tin on the lowest set of runners in the roasting oven and roast for 30 minutes, basting once.
Heat the milk and pour over the meat. Cover the tin tightly with foil and transfer to the simmering oven for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
Remove from the oven, and leave to rest in the warm. Salvage the garlic and if you like, extrude the cooked pulp, removing the paper skin. The garlicwill have mellowed in the cooking so will not be too strong. Allow the vegetables to cool a little, thenpuree them in a Magimix or blender in batches, with enough of the cooking juices to make a pouring sauce ready for making the gravy.
In a heavy-based pan melt the remainder of the butter and stir in the flour. Cook the roux on the simmering plate, stirring, for 3 minutes. Whisk in the red wine and gradually incorporate the vegetable puree and add the redcurrant jelly. Simmer for a few minutes and then check and adjust the seasoning. I find it takes quite a bit of salt and pepper to give it definition, but If it is too salty add a little cream to soften things down. Add any juices that have run out of the meat and add a little more stock or hot water if necessary until the sauce is the consistency you like. Carve the venison and serve the sauce to hand in a gravy boat.
I would suggest that slow-braised red cabbage with apple juice would go well with this, or as an alternative, oven bake some beetroot as follows, and re-heat with a little orange juice and butter with salt and pepper on the day. Both make a colourful and welcome addition to a venison roast:
Take fresh, scrubbed but not peeled beets and seal loosely in a double thickness of foil after adding salt, pepper and a mere drizzle of oil. Bake on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven for 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hours. Test regularly with a skewer until tender and peel while still warm.
Richard Maggs
THE AGALINKS COOKERY DOCTOR
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Dear Richard I have 2 (hind) legs of venison on the bone, in the freezer. The joints weigh each about 1kg, and comprise the hind leg from quarter to hock. I would like a recipe and advice on cooking them. I would prefer to roast or cook them whole if possible rather than cut the meat up for casserole. If marinading would help, please include some recipes for that too. So far, I have consulted my Mary Berry and Louise Walker Aga cook books, but found only casserole recipes. Delia too, has only casseroles. Maybe roasting Venison is not the thing! I did think to treat them like a leg of lamb might be appropriate, but am really in the dark. As I will be feeding 3 or 4 people I will most likely do them both. I have a 2 oven Aga. Many thanks for your time Susan