Complex
4
By Shaun Hill
Published 1990
Venison is an overworked word that has to do duty for the meat of anything antlered. Generally it means the flesh of red, fallow or roe deer. There is little point asking the butcher which is on offer any more than enquiring which breed of lamb or beef is on the slab. Yet they are different in several respects: size, tenderness and taste.
Recently killed venison doesn’t taste much different from recently killed beef. Its flavour develops and matures with hanging. Really well hung venison is magnificent and never needs marinating. You may have to shave off the outer layer of a particularly ripe joint, but it will be worth it for the superior texture and taste.
The venison in this dish is cooked like Tournedos Rossini, with foie gras and Madeira sauce. Use the eye of the meat from the saddle. The bones will make a gamey Madeira sauce.
© 1990 Shaun Hill. All rights reserved.