Venison Roasts

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy shallow roasting pan with a wire rack
• •Leave-in probe or instant-read thermometer
• •Rolling pin for the suet jacket
• •Large sheet of parchment paper
• •Butcher's string
• •Sharp carving knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim and dry

   Ask for a properly aged, intact whole-muscle roast. Remove every strip of silverskin and hard tendon, because fierce roasting will tighten them into cords, but leave any clean, firm white fat on a fallow-deer or stag haunch. Pat the meat thoroughly dry and, if time allows, leave it uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. Do not use the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168). Marinade would soften the clean game flavor and wet the surface when this method needs dry meat, protective fat, and direct heat.

   The flour-and-pepper coating once used during long hanging protected meat in an airy game larder. A clean refrigerator and butcher-aged meat replace that step safely; it contributed no flavor that must be recreated.
2. 2

   Bard the roebuck

   For roebuck, barder means to wrap lean meat in fat. Lay the bacon slices over the roast with their edges overlapping, covering the surface completely, then tie them snugly with kitchen string at 1-inch, or 2.5 cm, intervals. This is the home equivalent of pushing strips of larding bacon through the meat with a larding needle. The bacon protects the roast without puncturing a small, tender joint. If you are cooking the larger haunch route, skip this step.

3. 3

   Build the jacket

   For a fallow-deer or stag haunch, make the pâte de suif, a firm suet paste. Toss the cold suet through the 2½ cups of flour, then work in most of the ice water until the mixture forms a stiff, cohesive dough; add the remaining water only if dry patches remain. Roll it about ¼ inch, or 6 mm, thick, enclose the haunch completely, and pinch every seam closed. Brush a large sheet of parchment with the oil, wrap it around the dough, and secure it with string. This jacket is insulation, not pastry for eating. If a seam cracks while wrapping, patch it with a scrap of cold dough and press firmly.

4. 4

   Roast before fierce heat

   Heat the oven to 475°F, or 245°C, with a rack in the upper-middle position. Set the protected roast on a wire rack inside a shallow roasting pan and insert a probe into the thickest part without touching the rack. Roast the bacon-barded roebuck for 15 minutes before checking its progress; a suet-jacketed haunch will usually need 25 minutes before its first check. Rotate the pan once, then continue until the center reaches 111 to 115°F, or 44 to 46°C, about 25 to 40 minutes for roebuck and 35 to 50 minutes for the jacketed haunch. The clock can only advise you. The thermometer decides.

   If the center has already reached 118°F, or 48°C, unwrap it immediately and use the broiler for no more than 60 seconds per side during the final browning. Ça se rattrape. Color can be made quickly, but lost rosiness cannot be put back.
5. 5

   Strip and brown

   Raise the oven to its highest setting, preferably 500°F, or 260°C, and turn on the broiler if it needs time to heat. For roebuck, cut away the string and lift off the bacon. For haunch, remove the parchment, crack open the suet jacket, and discard it completely. Season the bare roast evenly with the salt. Dust a haunch very lightly with the remaining tablespoon of flour; for roebuck, omit the flour because the bacon has already left a fine film of fat. Brush either roast generously with melted butter and return it to the fierce heat for 4 to 7 minutes, turning once, until the surface is burnished brown and the center reaches 122 to 126°F, or 50 to 52°C. If the flour forms pale patches, brush them with another trace of butter and give them 30 seconds under the broiler. We don't apologize for butter.

6. 6

   Rest the roast

   Transfer the roast to a warm platter and rest it uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes. Carryover heat should bring the center to roughly 129 to 135°F, or 54 to 57°C, while the juices settle through the meat. Do not cover it tightly, or the new crust will soften. Pour any clear resting juices over the roast just before carving.

7. 7

   Carve and serve

   Carve the venison across the grain into slices about ⅜ inch, or 1 cm, thick, keeping the rosy slices slightly overlapping on the platter. Stir the redcurrant jelly until spoonable and send it separately in a small sauceboat, so each guest can take as much sharp sweetness as wanted. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Match the protection to the animal. Small, tender roebuck wants bacon and little time; a substantial fallow-deer or stag haunch can carry the suet jacket. Combining both coverings smothers the roast and slows the final browning.
• •Buy the venison already aged and ask the butcher to trim and tie it. Home hanging in a shed or cellar is not the honest equivalent of a controlled game larder; an uncovered overnight rest in the refrigerator dries the surface safely.
• •These rosy temperatures are for intact, inspected whole-muscle venison sold for rare cooking. Minced or mechanically tenderized venison needs a higher endpoint. For wild-harvested meat, follow local handling, testing, and temperature guidance, and never cook meat from an animal flagged by disease testing.
• •The suet jacket is discarded. Its job is to shield the haunch while the heat penetrates, then surrender the meat for quick browning. Cooking well is not cooking fancy; here the apparently grand casing is simply practical insulation.
• •Serve a red wine with acidity and restraint, such as red Burgundy or a northern Rhône Syrah. Heavy sweetness fights the game, while freshness makes room for the redcurrant jelly.

Advance Preparation

• •Ask the butcher to trim and tie the venison, then leave it uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. This dries the surface without marinating it.
• •The suet paste can be mixed and refrigerated for up to one day. Let it soften only until it can be rolled without cracking; it must remain cold and firm.
• •The roebuck can be wrapped in bacon and tied several hours ahead. Keep it refrigerated, then take it out about 30 minutes before roasting so the exterior loses its hard chill.
• •Measure the redcurrant jelly into its sauceboat before the roast enters the oven. It is served at cool room temperature and needs no last-minute work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)