A haunch of venison makes a splendid party dish and perfect for a Christmas party.

Ingredients

For the meat:

  • 1 haunch of venison - approx. 2.7-3.2kg in weight
  • 225g pork back fat or fatty streaky bacon

For the marinade:

  • 1 dessertspoon mixed fresh herbs: thyme, savoury, marjoram and sage
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 120 ml dry white wine
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the gravy:

  • 600ml beef or chicken stock

For the horseradish cream:

  • 3 - 6 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish
  • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Lots of freshly ground pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 225ml softly whipped cream

For the cranberry and port sauce:

  • 170g cranberries
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons port
  • A few drops of lemon juice, optional

Method

Preparing the venison:

  1. To prepare the venison, trim the silvery tough skin off the surface of the meat being as economical as possible.
  2. To lard the venison, cut the pork back fat into 5mm wide strips or lardons.
  3. Insert a strip into a larding needle, draw a lardon through the meat to make a stitch. Trim the end.
  4. Repeat at intervals all over the surface of the meat.
  5. If you do not have a larding needle, you can simply make delicate holes in the surface of the meat and push in the strips of pork or bacon.
  6. Put the haunch into a shallow dish or roasting pan.
  7. Sprinkle it with the freshly chopped herbs.
  8. Pour the olive oil and wine over the meat.
  9. Cover the dish and marinate the meat for about four hours at room temperature or in the refrigerator overnight, turning the meat occasionally.
  10. The liquid from this marinade will be used to baste the meat during cooking.

Cooking the venison:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c and season the meat with salt and pepper.
  2. Weigh the venison and calculate around 20 minutes to each kg of meat.
  3. After 20 minutes reduce the oven to 180°C and cook for the remaining time at this temperature.
  4. I like to serve venison slightly pink and still very juicy, so I usually turn off the oven then leave the meat relax for 20-30 minutes.
  5. During the cooking time baste every 10 minutes with the oil and wine marinade.
  6. When the venison is cooked, remove to a serving dish while you make the gravy.
  7. Degrease the roasting pan by adding about 600ml homemade beef, chicken or venison stock.
  8. Bring to the boil and continue to simmer and reduce until you have a flavoursome gravy.
  9. I occasionally swirl a few knobs of butter into the gravy to add richness and shine.
  10. Taste and correct seasoning.
  11. Strain the gravy through a sieve to improve the appearance.
  12. Bring the gravy back to a boil before serving the venison on hot plates with the accompanying sauces on the side.

For the horseradish cream:

  1. Put the grated horseradish into a bowl with the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard powder, salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar.
  2. Fold in the softly whipped cream but do not over mix or it will curdle.
  3. The sauce keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days, covered, so that it doesn't pick up other flavours.

For the cranberry and port sauce:

  1. Place the cranberries and water in a small saucepan and place on a low heat.
  2. Cover and simmer until the cranberries burst.
  3. Add in the sugar and port and stir well.
  4. Remove from the heat and taste and correct sweetness. I sometimes add a few drops of lemon juice if I feel the sauce needs sharpening up.