Loin of Venison with Game and Chocolate Sauce

By Scott Marley

Roe are the smallest and most tender deer; here I recommend the loin or saddle, which provides a very tender and virtually fat-free piece of meat. Get your butcher to prepare it for you, giving you the two loins and the meaty trimmings. Ask him to chop the rib bones into 2.5cm (1in) pieces. The chocolate may seem an odd flavour for a savoury sauce, but bitter chocolate (with 60% or more cocoa solids) complements gamey flavours well, and also gives the sauce a dark gloss. (serves 4) 650g (1lb 7oz) trimmed venison loin, plus saddle bones and trimmings Freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground pepper 1 tablespoon sunflower oil 25g (1oz) butter Braised red cabbage to serve 4 portions Dauphinoise potatoes to serve For the Game Sauce Rib bones, chopped and meaty trimmings 25g (1oz) butter 4 shallots finely sliced 50g (2oz) button mushrooms, thinly sliced 1 bay leaf 1 thyme sprig 6 white peppercorns, crushed Quarter of a bottle of red wine 850ml (one and a half pints) Chicken and Beef Stock 1 teaspoon arrowroot 1 tablespoon bitter chocolate, grated. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/Gas Mark 8. For the sauce, roast the chopped bones in the hot oven for 20 minutes, until nicely browned. Drain off any fat and put the bones to one side. Heat a saucepan (large enough to hold all the bones) and add the butter. Add the meat trimmings and fry until browned. Now add the shallots, mushrooms, bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns and fry everything until golden. Add the red wine and reduce until it's nearly gone. Add the bones and the stock (and a little water, if necessary, to ensure the bones are covered) and simmer for approximately one hour until well flavoured. Strain the sauce and allow it to stand for a few minutes. Spoon off any fat, put the stock into a clean pot and reduce it until well flavoured. Then thicken with the arrowroot. You should be left with about 300ml (half a pint) sauce. For the meat, when you are nearly ready to serve, heat a frying pan until it's hot. Season the loin with salt and pepper (you may have to cut them in half the fit the pan). Add the sunflower oil and butter to the pan, then the loins and lightly fry each side for three to four minutes, until well browned. Remove the pan to a warm place to relax the meat for at least 10 minutes (but no more than 30 minutes). Warm four large spoonfuls of the braised red cabbage in a small saucepan. Reheat the sauce. Pour any juices from the relaxing meat into the cabbage, and then reheat the meat in the hot oven for one and a half minutes. Place a spoonful of cabbage on each of the four warmed serving plates, putting the dauphinoise potatoes alongside. Carve the meat into approximately 24 slices and lay six slices on each pile of cabbage. Add the grated chocolate to the heated sauce and whisk it. Check and adjust the seasoning before spooning it over the meat.

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