Roast leg of venison or caribou

1 Roast

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 Leg of venison or caribou; bone in
6 ounces Fat larding pork or
6 Strips of bacon
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Pepper
½ tablespoon Ground ginger [opt'l] or
¼ teaspoon Allspice and
Oregano leaves or
Marjoram leaves or
Sprigs of rosemary or
Sage and garlic
2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
1 cup Butter; melted
2 cups Meat stock; beef or venison
1 cup Dry sherry; divided
⅓ cup Flour
2 tablespoons Butter; melted
5 teaspoons Dry red wine
¼ tablespoon Grated orange rind
2 tablespoons Tart currant or cranberry jelly

Directions

Yes, this recipe uses both sherry and red wine together. If using allspice, you can also add a pinch of cloves and substitute apple cider for the wines. If using garlic and herbs, chianti is good.

Before being butchered, venison should hang in a cool place for at least three or four days after the kill. Wipe it and dry well. Remove all skin, membrane and sinews. Wrap and freeze until used.

Defrost the roast. Pre-heat oven to 450 F. The fat pork should be cut into strips about ⅓" wide and 2" long. Then roll the pork strips in seasonings and insert them in a larding needle. Pull the strips through the meat at regular intervals, allowing the fat to show outside the meat at both ends.

If no larding needle is available, use smoke-cured bacon draped over the roast, sprinkle roast with the spices and herbs and cook at 275 F., 50 minutes per pound. Or better yet cut gashes in the roast about 2 inches apart and part way through the roast. Place in each gash a pinch of herbs, a slice of bacon and optionally a slice of garlic. Baste often.

Now rub the roast with oil and place it in a roasting pan. Pour the melted butter over it. Put in oven and turn down heat to 300 F. Or, more trouble but better, brown the meat on all sides in hot oil in a skillet and then transfer the meat to the roasting pan and roast at 300.

Roast for 4 to 5 hours, or until meat is brown and very tender. It should be basted every 15 minutes with a mixture of the meat stock and half of sherry. At the end of the cooking time, remove the meat from pan; skim off all the fat from the gravy.

Make a smooth paste of flour, butter and stock; add wine and orange rind and stir in the gravy in the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring as the gravy thickens. Add the rest of the sherry and the jelly. Now finish the roast in a slow oven [250], basting frequently with the completed gravy, for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Serve remaining gravy and more fruit jelly with the roast.

Jim Weller

Posted to MM-Recipes Digest by "Rfm" <Robert-Miles@...> on Sep 10, 98

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