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Roast Saddle Of Venison With Red Wine Sauce
(Rehrucken mit Rotweinsosse)
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| What You Need: |
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3 cups dry red wine
3 cups cold water
5 whole juniper berries
2 whole cloves
8 whole black peppercorns, bruised with a mortar and pestle or wrapped in a towel and bruised with a rolling pin
1 large bay leaf
1 tablespoon salt
5-pound saddle of venison
4 ounces slab bacon, sliced 1/8 inch thick and cut into lardons 1/8 inch wide and about 8 to 10 inches long
4 tablespoons lard
1 cup thinly sliced scraped carrots
½ cup finely chopped onions
¼ cup thinly sliced leeks, white part only
1½ cups thinly sliced celery, including some of the leaves
3 tablespoons flour
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
4 poached fresh pears or 8 canned pear halves, thoroughly drained (optional)
½ cup lingonberry (Preiselbeeren) preserves (optional)
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| How To Cook: |
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1. In a heavy 3- to 4-quart stainless-steel or enameled saucepan, bring the wine, water, juniper berries, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf and the salt to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and let the marinade cool to room temperature.
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2. Place the venison in an enameled or stainless-steel roasting pan just large enough to hold it comfortably and pour in the marinade. Turn the meat to moisten it thoroughly on all sides. Marinate at room temperature for at least 6 hours, turning the venison once or twice. Or cover it tightly with foil or plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for as long as 3 days, turning the venison over at least once each day. Because marinades are tenderizers, the older the animal, the longer it should marinate.
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3. Remove the venison from the marinade and set the marinade aside in a bowl. Pat the meat completely dry with paper towels and lard it in the following fashion: Insert the tip of a bacon lardon into the clip of a larding needle. Force it through the roast by pushing the point of the needle into the surface of the meat at an angle toward the backbone. Pull the needle through and trim the ends of the lardon so that ¼ inch protrudes from each end of the stitch. Space the lardons about an inch apart in 2 horizontal rows along both sides of the saddle.
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4. If you do not have a larding needle, cut the lardons into short strips about 2½ inches long. Make small stitchlike holes through the surface of the meat with a skewer, ice pick or small knife, and use its tip to push the short lardons through the holes.
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5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Dry the roasting pan and in it melt the lard over high heat until it splutters. Add the saddle and brown it on all sides, regulating the heat so that the meat colors evenly without burning. Transfer the saddle to a platter, and add the carrots, onions, leeks and celery to the fat remaining in the pan. Cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, for 4 or 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and lightly colored. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of flour over the vegetables and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 or 3 minutes to brown the flour slightly. Watch carefully for any sign of burning.
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6. Now place the venison on top of the vegetables and pour in enough of the marinade to come about 2 inches up the side of the saddle. (Reserve the remaining marinade.) Roast the venison, uncovered, in the middle of the oven for 1½ hours, or until the meat is tender (ideally it should be slightly pink), basting it occasionally with the pan juices, and adding more marinade to the pan if the liquid cooks away. Transfer the venison to a large heated platter and let it rest for 10 minutes or so for easier carving.
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7. Strain the liquid in the roasting pan through a fine sieve into an 8-inch skillet, pressing down hard on the vegetables with the back of a spoon before discarding them. Skim thoroughly of all surface fat. There should be about 2 cups of liquid. If more, boil it rapidly over high heat until reduced to the required amount; if less, add as much of the reserved marinade as necessary. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and add the sour cream, whisking constantly. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, then stir in the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning.
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8. To carve the saddle, separate each loin from the bones by holding the carving knife against the ridge on either side of the backbone and cutting down through the meat along the contours of the bones. Cut the loins crosswise into ¼-inch slices, carving at a slight angle so that the first slice from each loin is tapered. Reassemble the saddle on the platter and garnish it, if you like, with pear halves filled with lingonberry (Preiselbeerepnre) serves.
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9. Traditionally, the roast saddle of venison is also accompanied by a variety of such vegetables asgreen beans, carrots, mushrooms and red cabbage.
NOTE: To poach fresh pears, peel them, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the cores with a teaspoon. In a 10-to 12-inch enameled or stainless steel skillet, combine 4 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice. Bring to a boil, add the pears, reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 5 to 15 minutes, or until the pears show almost no resistance when pierced with a fork. Baste the pears occasionally if they are not completely covered by the liquid. Drain, cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to serve.
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10. If a saddle of venison is not available, a 4- to 5-pound boned and rolled venison leg or shoulder roast may be substituted. In that case leave the lardons in long strips and insert them completely through the meat from one end of the roast to the other.
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