Roast loin of venison, skirlie potatoes, braised red cabbage, game and blaeberry sauce
Ingredients
Serves: 4
1 small roe saddle (approx.1.5kg)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sunflower oil, mixed
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
For the braised cabbage
1 red cabbage, finely shredded
50g redcurrant jelly
50ml sherry vinegar
Zest and juice of 1 orange
120ml port
1/2 bottle red wine
85g raisins
50g butter
For the skirlie potatoes
50g bacon fat, or beef or duck dripping
1 medium onion, finely chopped
125g medium or coarse oatmeal
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
700g mash
For the sauce game gravy
600g venison rib bones
2-3 tbsp sunflower oil
200g venison trimmings, roughly chopped
4 shallots, finely sliced
8 button mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bay leaf
A sprig of thyme
6 white peppercorns, crushed
150ml port
150ml red wine
100g blaeberries
(or alternatively, blueberries)
700ml brown chicken or game stock
1 tsp redcurrant jelly
1 tsp arrowroot (optional)
to finish game Sauce
400ml game gravy
2 tsp Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar, warmed through
Handful blueberries, to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
For the game gravy
Roast the venison bones for approximately 30 minutes in the oven. Meanwhile, heat a medium-sized saucepan, add the sunflower oil and venison trimmings and caramelise for 20 minutes. Add the shallots, mushrooms, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, and crushed peppercorns. gently fry for 5-10 minutes or until dark brown and caramelized.
Pour in the port and red wine. Boil until a thick, syrupy glaze is achieved. Add the stock, redcurrant jelly, blaeberries and roasted bones and simmer for 45 minutes, skimming frequently.
Pass through a fine sieve into a small, clean pan; simmer again and reduce until required flavour is achieved. Thicken with 1tsp arrowroot if required, then check the seasoning and set aside for the finishing sauce.
NB - This makes more gravy than you need for this dish; keep the rest in the fridge or freeze it.
For the skirlie potatoes
Melt the dripping or fat in a frying pan and add the onion. Cook over a gentle heat for about 10 minutes until just beginning to turn golden. Stir in the oatmeal and ‘skirl’ around the pan for a couple of minutes until the fat is absorbed and the oatmeal is smelling ‘toastie’. Remove from the heat. Place the mash in a large mixing bowl and mix through the skirlie mix. Form the mix into cakes and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, until warmed through. Keep warm until ready to serve.
For the red cabbage
Turn the oven up to 230°C/450°F/Gas 8. Remove the coarse outer leaves from the cabbage. Quarter it and cut out and discard the root. Finely slice the cabbage using a sharp knife. Heat a large pan and add 50g of butter. When it sizzles, add the cabbage and stir in to coat. Add the redcurrant jelly and allow it to melt. Add the vinegar, orange, port, red wine and some seasoning.
Bring it to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid and cook for 1.5 hours, then remove the lid, add the raisins increase the heat and reduce the liquid to a syrup. When it’s ready check and adjust the seasoning.
For the meat
When you are nearly ready to serve, heat a frying pan until it’s hot. Season the roe loins with salt and pepper (you may have to cut them in half to fit the pan). Add the sunflower oil and butter to the pan. Then add the loins and lightly fry each side for 3-4 minutes respectively, until well browned. Remove the pan to a warm place to relax the meat for at least 10 minutes (but no more than 30). Warm through four large spoonfuls of the cabbage in a small saucepan and warm through the sauce. Pour any juices from the relaxing meat into the cabbage, then reheat the meat in the oven for 90 seconds. Have the potatoes ready. Finish the game gravy by taking 400ml of the prepared game sauce, add the vinegar and blaeberries and warm through for 2 minutes.
Place a potato cake on pre-warmed serving plates and top with a generous spoon of the red cabbage. Carve the meat into approximately 24 slices and lay six slices on each pile of cabbage. Check and adjust the seasoning before spooning it over and around the meat.