WHAT’S COOKING: A trio of venison recipes from the heart of the Karoo

While the hunting season winds down, get into the kitchen (or shuffle over to the braai) with these recipes from Annatjie Reynolds and Lynne Minnaar’s new book, Karoo Venison.

It was the Jerepigo jelly that caught my attention first. I could almost taste it, just at the thought of it. Then I saw the photograph. A shiny crimson sheen of fruity joy sitting on top of a loaf tin of kudu liver pâté. Halved grapes captured in it like amber. I had to have it.

Paging through this book – a real standout, it’s one for the venison connoisseur as well as the oke standing in his kitchen wondering what the heck to do with this hunk of meat – my eye also alighted on the recipe for Karoo springbok with lambs’ tails, and gemsbok fillet with streaky bacon.

Skaapstertjies as an additional element alongside a roast – you are talking about proper meat people here, for whom even the side dish is meat.

As for gemsbok, in my home town of Oranjemund, back in the Sixties, gemsbok were a part of the scenery. They roam wild in those parts, and it’s surprising that I have few memories of us eating them in those days.

But I will now, and if I am delivered a gemsbok fillet by a generous hunter friend (this is a normal thing in the Karoo, where a kuier by a friend or neighbour usually involves a gift of some venison or a jar of pickles or jam) I will quickly open this book and follow the recipe.

Cast an eye around the butcheries in your neighbourhood, or travel further afield if you need to, and buy some venison. Then get stuck into one of these recipes.

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Remove from heat. Add the milk, return to the stove and stir until it reaches boiling point. The white sauce must be smooth and thick. Set aside.

Heat a little more butter in a pan and fry the bacon in it. Add the onion and sauté until soft, then add the garlic and celery and continue stir-frying. Remove the onion mixture before frying the liver until firm and medium done. Remove as well.

Decant the white sauce into a food processor and add all the fried ingredients, as well as the remaining ingredients. Purée until smooth and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Grease a 1.5 litre dish with butter and pour the mixture into it. Place the dish in a deeper pan or ovenproof dish and fill with hot water to halfway up the pâté dish. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1-1¼ hours until firm and set. Allow to cool, cover and refrigerate while you make the jelly topping (recipe follows).

Garnish with grapes, if preferred, and serve with melba toast or fresh bread rolls and gherkins.

Stir 20ml gelatine powder into 125ml boiling water. Use a fork to whisk well until all the gelatine has dissolved. Stir in 350ml red Jerepigo dessert wine and mix well. For a deep pink-red colour, stir in 1ml food colouring. Pour the liquid over the chilled pâté and refrigerate until set.

Toinette du Toit, the author’s friend, likes to pair venison with lamb: “Usually I put bacon in a venison leg for a bit of fat, but necessity is the mother of invention. One evening lamb tails were all I had in my freezer. Since then I have not cooked a leg any other way.