Roasted Venison with Galantine Sauce
A juicy, firm piece of roast venison, coated in a thick galantine sauce made with breadcrumbs, vinegar, and warm spices — cinnamon, ginger, pepper. The spicy acidity of the sauce cuts through the richness of the dark meat.
A juicy, firm piece of roast venison, coated in a thick galantine sauce made with breadcrumbs, vinegar, and warm spices — cinnamon, ginger, pepper. The spicy acidity of the sauce cuts through the richness of the dark meat.
Nothing pleases Us more than to course the deer through the woods of Greenwich, and to see it appear that evening, roasted on the spit and larded to perfection, on Our feast table. Turn it before a lively fire, baste it with its own fat, and have ready a galantine well bound with burnt breadcrumbs, vinegar, and spices of the Orient. The flesh of the wild wants a sauce that pricks and bites, else it weighs too heavy on a prince's palate. Carve before your guests: a quarter of venison says, without a word, who commands here.
- •Haunch of venison — one piece (master meat)
- •Larding bacon — some strips (cooking fat)
- •Burnt breadcrumbs — a good amount (sauce thickener)
- •Wine vinegar — to measure (acidity)
- •Cinnamon, ginger, long pepper, cloves — to taste (warm spices)
Roasted Venison with Galantine Sauce
A juicy, firm piece of roast venison, coated in a thick galantine sauce made with breadcrumbs, vinegar, and warm spices — cinnamon, ginger, pepper. The spicy acidity of the sauce cuts through the richness of the dark meat.
Why this dish? Elizabeth was a passionate huntress, still riding to chase deer in the royal parks well into old age. Game brought back from hunts around Greenwich ended up as the centerpiece of banquets: venison was the meat of the great, forbidden to commoners by poaching laws.
Nothing pleases Us more than to course the deer through the woods of Greenwich, and to see it appear that evening, roasted on the spit and larded to perfection, on Our feast table. Turn it before a lively fire, baste it with its own fat, and have ready a galantine well bound with burnt breadcrumbs, vinegar, and spices of the Orient. The flesh of the wild wants a sauce that pricks and bites, else it weighs too heavy on a prince's palate. Carve before your guests: a quarter of venison says, without a word, who commands here.
Ingredients (period version)
- Haunch of venison — one piece (master meat)
- Larding bacon — some strips (cooking fat)
- Burnt breadcrumbs — a good amount (sauce thickener)
- Wine vinegar — to measure (acidity)
- Cinnamon, ginger, long pepper, cloves — to taste (warm spices)
Ingredients
- Venison roast (or doe) — 1 kg (master meat)
- Larding bacon — 2 to 3 thin slices (cooking fat)
- Toasted breadcrumbs — 60 g (sauce thickener)
- Red wine vinegar — 4 tbsp (acidity)
- Game or beef broth — 250 ml (sauce base)
- Cinnamon — 1/2 tsp (warm spice)
- Ground ginger — 1/2 tsp (warm spice)
- Black pepper and ground cloves — 1 pinch each (spices)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Remove the meat from the fridge 1 hour ahead, salt it, bard the roast with bacon and tie it.
- Sear on all sides, then roast at 200 °C for about 15 minutes per 500 g for pink meat; let rest 10 minutes under foil.
- For the galantine: toast the breadcrumbs dry until browned, then blend with the broth and vinegar.
- Add cinnamon, ginger, pepper and cloves, salt, and simmer gently, stirring, until thickened to a coating consistency.
- Slice the venison, spoon the hot galantine over it, and serve immediately.
How it was made : The 'galantine' (or 'gamelyn') sauce is a classic attested in medieval and Tudor English manuscripts: the juices were thickened with toasted breadcrumbs and soured with vinegar, all loaded with costly spices. Game was roasted on a spit, basted with its own fat, and remained a strictly reserved noble dish.
The contemporary twist : Serve the venison thinly sliced on a slate board with the galantine in a pipette alongside, for a 'royal hunt' nod that embraces its old spices.
Sources : A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye, anonymous, circa 1545 · The Good Huswifes Jewell, Thomas Dawson, 1585
Elizabeth I · Charactorium
