Selle de Chevreuil au Genièvre

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small heavy metal roasting tray, about 9 by 13 inches (23 by 33 cm), safe for stovetop use
• •Instant-read meat thermometer
• •Narrow boning or paring knife
• •Slim metal skewer or sturdy chopstick
• •Kitchen string
• •Small heavy saucepan with lid
• •Long match or wand lighter
• •Carving knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Stew the apples

   Put the apple wedges, water, and sugar in a small heavy saucepan. Cover and cook over gentle heat for 8 to 12 minutes, turning the fruit once, until the wedges are tender at their edges but still hold their shape. The apples must taste of apple, not pudding; two teaspoons of sugar are enough. Set them aside covered. If they soften into a rough compote, serve them confidently in the same separate bowl and stir as little as possible.

   Reinette, Braeburn, or Granny Smith apples keep the necessary tartness. A very sweet apple makes the cream sauce feel heavy.
2. 2

   Lard and tie

   Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Chill the fatback batons until firm but not frozen solid. Make 12 narrow channels through the venison, running with the grain and distributed evenly through the roast, using a slim skewer followed carefully by the tip of a narrow knife. Push one fatback baton into each channel until it is buried. Tie the saddle at 1-inch (2.5 cm) intervals and season it evenly with the salt.

   Keep the cuts narrow. Large holes lose juices, while slim channels let the fatback baste the lean meat from within.
3. 3

   Roast by temperature

   Set the saddle directly in the smallest heavy metal roasting tray that holds it comfortably. Roast for 10 minutes, then lower the oven to 400°F (200°C) without opening the door. Continue for 10 to 18 minutes, checking from the side with an instant-read thermometer. Remove the saddle when the centre reaches 136°F (58°C); during its rest it should settle near 142 to 145°F (61 to 63°C), still pink and moist. If it remains under the target after resting, return the whole roast to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes. If it has gone farther, carve it thinly and keep the sauce generous.

   Thickness decides the roasting time more than weight. Begin checking early, because a lean saddle can cross from rosy to dry in minutes.
4. 4

   Rest the saddle

   Transfer the venison to a warm platter and cover it loosely with foil for 15 minutes. Don't wrap it tightly; trapped heat pushes the centre past its mark. Keep every drop that gathers on the platter, and leave the roasting tray with its fond, the brown glaze stuck to the metal, intact for the sauce.

5. 5

   Burn off the gin

   Spoon excess clear fat from the roasting tray, leaving the fond and a thin sheen of fat. Turn off the extractor fan, move the gin bottle well away, and set a fitted lid nearby. Take the tray off the heat, pour in the measured gin, then return it to medium heat. Keeping your face and sleeves back, ignite the gin with a long match and let the flame die naturally while you scrape the tray. If it refuses to ignite, boil it briskly for 60 to 90 seconds, until the raw alcohol smell disappears. The destination is the same.

   Never pour spirits into a hot tray directly from the bottle. Measure first, and use only a heavy metal tray that is safe over the stove.
6. 6

   Reduce the sauce

   Add the powdered juniper berry and double cream to the roasting tray. Tip the tray slightly so the liquid gathers, then simmer steadily while scraping up the last of the fond. Reduce the cream by half, about 4 to 6 minutes, until the bubbles broaden and the liquid begins to coat a spoon. Lower the heat and whisk in the prepared poivrade sauce, one tablespoon at a time. Simmer for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and add exactly 8 drops of lemon juice. If the sauce tightens too far or looks greasy, whisk in the saddle's resting juices a teaspoon at a time until the gloss returns. Ça se rattrape.

   One juniper berry means one. Gin already brings juniper to the tray, and extra berries make the sauce medicinal before the cook realizes what happened.
7. 7

   Carve and serve

   Warm the apples gently over low heat. Remove the string from the saddle and carve across the grain into slices about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. Arrange them in order on the warm platter, spoon enough sauce over the meat to make it gleam, and send the remaining sauce alongside. Serve the hot stewed apples separately, exactly as the dish intends. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for a boneless saddle rolled into one even roast, not four separate medallions. The continuous cut roasts more evenly and gives you a proper platter to carve at the table.
• •Use unsmoked fatback, not bacon. Smoke would become another seasoning and compete with the gin, juniper, and poivrade; the fatback's work is moisture and richness.
• •Double cream gives the surest reduction. If only heavy cream is available, choose one with at least 36 percent fat and expect a slightly lighter sauce. Don't thicken it with starch.
• •The listed cooking time assumes the poivrade sauce is already prepared. Keep it whole as its own finished sauce; this recipe reaches for it exactly as the source entry does.
• •A mature Pinot Noir with bright acidity suits the venison, cream, and apples. Serve it cool enough to taste fresh, not warm from the room.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the poivrade sauce up to 3 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Warm the measured portion before it enters the reduced cream.
• •The saddle may be larded and tied up to 8 hours ahead. Keep it covered and chilled, then take it out 30 minutes before roasting so the chill begins to leave its centre.
• •Stew the apples up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them covered and reheat over the gentlest heat, adding a spoonful of water only if the pan is dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)