Venison loin with blackberry, juniper and red wine sauce

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 600–700g venison loin, trimmed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 2 thyme sprigs
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For the blackberry, juniper and red wine sauce
• 1 small shallot, very finely chopped
• 6 juniper berries, lightly crushed
• 200ml dry red wine
• 250ml beef or game stock
• 1 tsp redcurrant jelly
• 100g fresh blackberries
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 15g cold butter
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the venison ready

Take the venison out of the fridge around 30 minutes before cooking so it loses some of its chill. Pat it dry with kitchen paper and season generously with salt and black pepper.

Venison loin is lean and tender, so this is very much a case of cooking it confidently rather than giving it an unnecessarily long appointment with the heat.

2. Start the sauce

Put the shallot and crushed juniper berries into a small saucepan with a tiny splash of oil and cook over a medium-low heat for 4–5 minutes until the shallot has softened.

Pour in the red wine, turn the heat up and let it bubble until reduced by roughly two-thirds. You want concentration here, not a bowl of warm wine pretending to be sauce.

3. Add the stock

Pour in the stock and add the redcurrant jelly. Simmer for another 10–15 minutes until reduced to a glossy, lightly thickened sauce.

Add half the blackberries and gently crush them with the back of a spoon. Simmer for another 2–3 minutes, then stir in the balsamic vinegar.

Taste and adjust with salt and black pepper. Keep the sauce warm while you cook the venison.

4. Sear the venison

Heat the olive oil in a heavy frying pan over a high heat. Add the venison and sear for 2–3 minutes on each side, turning it so all the surfaces become deeply browned.

Add the butter, garlic and thyme for the final minute and baste the venison generously with the foaming butter.

5. Finish the cooking

For a thicker loin, transfer the pan to a 180°C fan oven for around 4–8 minutes, depending on its thickness and how pink you like the meat.

Venison loin is at its best still pink and tender in the centre, so check it early rather than waiting until all possibility of juiciness has departed.

6. Rest it properly

Transfer the venison to a warm plate or board, spoon over a little of the thyme butter and leave it to rest loosely covered for 8–10 minutes.

Do not skip this bit. Cutting straight into it will simply relocate all those lovely juices from the meat to the chopping board.

7. Finish the sauce

Add any resting juices from the venison to the sauce, then stir in the remaining whole blackberries.

Take the saucepan off the heat and whisk in the cold butter until the sauce is glossy. The blackberries should warm through but still keep some shape, giving you little sharp-sweet bursts rather than one uniformly purple sauce.

8. Serve

Slice the venison loin thickly and arrange it on warm plates. Spoon over the blackberry, juniper and red wine sauce, making sure everyone gets a few whole berries.

Serve with creamy mash, celeriac purée, dauphinoise potatoes or roasted root vegetables, plus something green on the side. This is a dish that welcomes autumn rather enthusiastically.

A couple of helpful notes
- Venison loin is very lean, so avoid overcooking it. Buy from a trusted butcher or game supplier and cook according to the guidance for the particular cut you have.
- Juniper should sit quietly behind the venison rather than announce itself from across the room, so crush the berries lightly and resist adding a great handful.
- Frozen blackberries work in the sauce if fresh are unavailable, though fresh berries give the nicest finish when added at the end.