Roast Butterflied Haunch of Muntjac Venison

Delicious venison, butterflied, marinated and cooked on the barbecue

By Mike Robinson for The Field

Thursday, 17 May 2012

It might not be barbecue weather, but whether you BBQ or roast this venison haunch, it's a delicious recipe

Roast Butterflied haunch of Muntjac or Young Roe Deer

Serves 2 to 4
■ 1 big bunch oregano (chopped)
■ 150ml (5fl oz) olive oil
■ 6 cloves garlic (peeled)
■ Zest and juice of 1 lemon
■ 1 chilli (chopped)
■ 1 tsp cracked black pepper
■ 1 tsp sea-salt
■ 1 haunch muntjac (about 1.2kg)
■ 1 small bunch parsley

Whizz the oregano, oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, chilli and seasoning in a food processor until you have a coarse paste. Pour it into a bowl and reserve.
Remove the shank from the haunch. This is easy if you have a sharp, thin-bladed knife. Lay the haunch on its outside and feel the joint where the shank joins the leg. You will feel some bumps - the edges of the joint. Cut between these, then rotate the knife and cut through the obvious tendon. With a bit of pressure, the knife will go straight through and remove the shank, which we will cook later.
Carefully cut out the thigh bone and start butterflying. Make a series of 1in-deep cuts, going outwards from where you have removed the thigh bone. Unroll the meat from centre to side, using the knife to open it up. You should be left with a sheet of meat about 11⁄2in thick and 1ft long. Next, pour half the marinade over the meat and leave it for an hour. Cook it on a medium barbecue, turning every three minutes for 20 minutes, or sear it in a big pan to brown and then roast it in a 220°C (425°F/Gas Mark 7) oven for 15 minutes. Rest it for 10 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, add some chopped parsley to the marinade and spoon it over the carved meat.
What about that shank? Ask your butcher to remove the tendon and saw the bone. Freeze it until you have at least eight and then braise them.

For this recipe you could either use muntjac or a young roe deer; the cooking times will be roughly the same. The meat is very different, however, so it is up to personal choice or availability. Personally, I would go for the muntjac, which has amazingly dense and delicious meat, over the roe, which is a bit stronger in flavour and softer in texture. But the muntjac is a terrible bugger to skin.

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Comments

Eldu01

Thu, 23rd Aug 2012 19:14:46

I made this with a haunch of venison that I flattened out to about 3cm thick, and marinated it for about 10 hours. The marinade was quick to make, though I used about 1/2 the oil suggested, and about the same of the rest of the ingredients. Then BBQ'ed over a low to medium heat for about 20-25 mins, and rested it about 20-30mins. It was really tasty and flavoursome. I would definitely use this again for a BBQ, and the cold meat afterwards was also very good.