Barbecued venison with green sauce

Ingredients

For the venison

• 1.5kg joint of venison haunch
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• 30g salt
• 10g ground black pepper
• 50g mixed seasonal green herbs and/or herb stalks

For the green sauce

• 200g mixed seasonal green herbs, stalks removed
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• 50ml red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp capers, finely chopped

Method

To marinate the venison, put the meat in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. It may seem like a lot of seasoning, but it needs to penetrate the meat to the core to make a full, rounded and savoury flavour. Add the herbs and/or stalks if you have them. Leave in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours, but up to 5 days. Turn once a day.

The green sauce can be made a day or two in advance. Chop up all your herbs finely using a knife. I find it creates a much nicer texture than using a blender and it’s a good excuse to practice your knife skills.

Add the garlic, then pound with a pestle and mortar to bring out the flavour and help the herbs break down. Add the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and capers if using. Season to taste.

Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel. Heat your barbecue or griddle to a medium heat. Place the venison on the heat and char each side well. This should take about 3-4 mins on each side. If it is charring too quickly or slowly, adjust the heat as necessary.

When the meat is charred all over (this should take 12-16 mins in total) rest in a warm place for 5-10 mins then slice and serve with the green sauce.

It’s worth noting that if your piece of meat is round and very thick it will take longer on each side. If it is a flatter joint and seems like it only has two sides worthy of grilling, cook it just on those sides for 3-4 mins. The meat should be rare-to-medium so that it’s tender and succulent.

Image: John Holdship