I’ve got a joint of venison to cook. Front shoulder/upper leg.

I would normally slow pot-roast it for a few hours on a low heat but I’m no f*$^king Cordon Ramsway so, any recommendations from you gourmet chefs out there please?

That’s how I’d cook it as well, with some red wine and juniper berries

I like to add some strong, dark chocolate just before I serve it.

Red wine will certainly go down well with ‘the good lady’ so that’s pretty much a must. Juniper berries? Sounds interesting, worth a try (if I can get any at the moment).

Dark chocolate? Really?? A few chunks melted over the top after its come out of the oven?

Venison, by its very nature, is an extremely dry meat. Many moons ago a game keeper taught me the best way to cook it; no sauces, no frills and no mess. Simpy double wrap in foil, bung in a bay leave, a quartered onion and about a pint of water.Cover and scrunch the foil together. Cook slowly on a relatively low heat 180deg C or so and voila! Moist venison. Basically your steaming the meat. Its at this point when the joint has been removed from the oven, foil etc that I’d serve with a sauce of your choosing.

Howzat!

****! Meant to say add rock salt! It’s also devoid of salts.

Cheers
TS

We usually do this one:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/roast-cauliflower-with-venison-haggis-and-gamekeepers-sauce-1365942.html

Prefer to replace the haggis with good black pudding though.

For doing the joint, we usually cook it using a meat thermometer to control the cooking. Basically start with the meat at room temperatute, seal the joint thoroughly and all over it in a very hot pan then whack it in a hot oven (about 230C) until the joint is heading for its cooked temperature. For rare we do cook to 50C, then move it into a warm place until it hits about 60C, for medium about 55 and 65 respectively. Top oven or grill above oven is ideal. Cook uncovered or in a loose wrap – the pan seal and hot oven should stop it drying out. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the joint, roughly 5 mins per cm thickness in the oven and same again in the warm oven.

For drinking, we usually avoid a Cabernet Sauvignon based wine as the dry mouth feel from the tannins doesn’t go terribly well with the roast venison (and we can’t afford the sort of Cab Sauv that would go well!) – an Australian Shiraz is usually a winner, or a St Emillion or similar Merlot-driven Bordeaux.

hello peter

I made this the other week, it was really good.

=http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/meat-recipes/wild-mushroom-and-venison-stroganoff

Must admit that I find venison cooks best very quickly although it depends on the animal. Have you just acquired it? Only bucks in season so it should be a nice tender one, cook it quick or an old tough bugger. Stew it!!. Just finish cooking a stack of venison on the wood fired BBQ. clearing the freezer and found several legs plus chops and even liver. As much as possible went in the slow cooker with a bottle of home made cats pee (it’s cost me 2 oxo’s so far) whilst the rest was slung in lumps on the BBQ and shared with the dogs. Looked more Bear Grylls than Ray Mears, especially the liver. The dogs liked that.
How about having a steak or two off it first? Only got til the end of the month to get another, need some chops for summer BBQ to go with the boar chops and bacon plus the rabbits in the freezer. Ahh traditional FoD nosh. Now to have a squirrel.

I’ve always prefered it in a pie, or casserole with venison sausage too.

Thanks for the ideas. The stroganoff looks good Andy; will certainly try that one with another cut. The one I’ve got is better suited to roasting. [How are things btw, hope all is well. See you in June?].

Looks like tankslapper’s idea is getting the nod from the wife given the cut of meat, the sauce will be red wine based and probably ‘earthy’ in a mushroomy kind of way.

We’ve never cooked venison previously although have eaten it in steak, pie, and casserole form before. We’ll be lining up some loin cuts to try some of your other suggestions.

Its not a bit of that one, that was slowly disappearing bit by bit, that was by the road by the Dilke bridge? Should be tender now!
What ever keep it moist and eat with Freeminer beer.

LOL Matt, no! But ’tis local 😉 And a drop of Mr Burgess’s finest would indeed be a good accompaniment 🙂

June?

MM ?

mmmmm…………….maybe.

Hope so!

Footnote: The venison was very nice. Pot roasted 25 minutes / lb at 170C. Thick redcurrant gravy and parsnips to accompany. Moist, tender, tasty. Dessert of strawberries, strong dark chocolate mousse, and ice cream to follow. Right now I’m mostly fat 😉

Thanks to all.

psling – Member

Footnote: The venison was very nice. Pot roasted 25 minutes / lb at 170C. Thick redcurrant gravy and parsnips to accompany. Moist, tender, tasty. Dessert of strawberries, strong dark chocolate mousse, and ice cream to follow. Right now I’m mostly fat [;-)]

Thanks to all.
Drooling now