Venison Dinner Party-Part 4-The Venison!

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Now for the pièce de résistance...the roasted Rack of Venison!! You can buy venison at specialty butcher shops and there are places online as well. I got mine at Savenor's Market in Cambridge (details at bottom of page). Order a few days ahead!

Roasted Rack of Venison with Red Currant and Cranberry Sauce
This recipe is one of Martha Stewart's.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
4 cups Homemade Beef Stock
2 dried bay leaves
1 bunch fresh thyme
3/4 cup ruby port wine
1 one-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup red currant (or black currant) jam
4 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
4 tablespoons whole juniper berries
4 tablespoons dried rosemary
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons butter
2 racks (1 1/2 to 2 pounds each) venison, well trimmed (the racks I purchased were more like 2 - 3 pounds each which is what you might find more readily available)
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

How to:
1. Combine stock, bay leaves, thyme, port, ginger, and jam in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until stock has reduced to 1 cup, about 1 hour. Remove from heat, strain, and transfer to a clean small saucepan. Set aside.

2. Combine peppercorns, juniper berries, and rosemary in a spice grinder. Grind, allowing some texture to remain.

3. Heat oven to 350°. Place a large roasting pan in the oven. Salt both sides of each rack well, and rub the ground spice mixture into the meat.

4. Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Place both racks in skillet, and brown each side, about 2 minutes per side, using tongs to maneuver racks in skillet. Transfer racks to the preheated roasting pan.

5. Roast venison 30 to 35 minutes for medium rare (NOTE: I found it takes more like 45-50 minutes. Use a meat thermoter. Temperature should be 150 - 160 degrees when you take it out of the oven). Remove roasting pan from oven, and transfer meat to a cutting board to rest 15 minutes.

6. Return sauce to a boil. In a small bowl, combine remaining 2 teaspoons butter with flour; mix until a paste forms. Reduce heat, stir in cranberries; let simmer until berries are soft and sauce is glossy. Whisk in the butter mixture. Serve the red-currant-and-cranberry sauce with the venison.


Venison Source:
Savenor's Market
92 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, 617.723.MEAT
160 Charles Street, Boston, MA, 617.576.MEAT

NOTE: If you would like all the recipes in the Venison Dinner Party menu in a text only format, you can download a pdf called "venisondinnerrecipes.pdf" here.