flipRoast Venison with Pepper Sauce (Camelin Sauce)
Roast Venison with Pepper Sauce (Camelin Sauce)
Why this dish? Half-sister of Arthur and lady of high lineage, Morgana presides over banquets where game meat from the forests of Brittany is served, accompanied by the pungent sauces prized by the lords of Camelot.
A piece of roast venison, sliced and coated with a brown, fragrant sauce of cinnamon, ginger, and toasted bread sharpened with vinegar: the prestige dish of the feast.
For a feast worthy of my house, a roast of venison is needed, steaming, to be carved with a knife before the guests. I have it napped with camelin, that brown sauce where cinnamon joins ginger and bread toasted on the embers, sharpened with a little vinegar. Beware of drowning the flesh: the sauce should dress it, not hide it. Serve it on bread that will drink the juice—and let none leave my table with an empty belly.
- •Haunch of venison — one piece (base)
- •Cinnamon — one stick (master spice)
- •Ginger and clove — a little (spices)
- •Bread toasted on embers — two slices (sauce thickener)
- •Wine vinegar — a dash (acidity)
- •Lard or suet — for roasting (cooking fat)
Roast Venison with Pepper Sauce (Camelin Sauce)
A piece of roast venison, sliced and coated with a brown, fragrant sauce of cinnamon, ginger, and toasted bread sharpened with vinegar: the prestige dish of the feast.
Why this dish? Half-sister of Arthur and lady of high lineage, Morgana presides over banquets where game meat from the forests of Brittany is served, accompanied by the pungent sauces prized by the lords of Camelot.
For a feast worthy of my house, a roast of venison is needed, steaming, to be carved with a knife before the guests. I have it napped with camelin, that brown sauce where cinnamon joins ginger and bread toasted on the embers, sharpened with a little vinegar. Beware of drowning the flesh: the sauce should dress it, not hide it. Serve it on bread that will drink the juice—and let none leave my table with an empty belly.
Ingredients (period version)
- Haunch of venison — one piece (base)
- Cinnamon — one stick (master spice)
- Ginger and clove — a little (spices)
- Bread toasted on embers — two slices (sauce thickener)
- Wine vinegar — a dash (acidity)
- Lard or suet — for roasting (cooking fat)
Ingredients
- Roast venison (or haunch of deer) — 800 g (base)
- Cinnamon — 1 stick + ½ teaspoon ground (master spice)
- Ground ginger — ½ teaspoon (spice)
- Clove — 2 (spice)
- Country bread, toasted — 2 slices (thickener)
- Red wine vinegar — 3 tablespoons (acidity)
- Meat broth — 25 cl (liquid)
- Butter or lard — 30 g (cooking fat)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Sear the venison roast on all sides in hot butter, season with salt, then roast at 180°C until pink (about 20 min per 500 g). Let rest.
- For the camelin sauce: soak the toasted bread in vinegar and a little broth, then blend.
- Heat the remaining broth with cinnamon, ginger, and clove; add the bread purée and let thicken 5 minutes, stirring.
- Adjust acidity with vinegar, season with salt, strain if desired for a smooth sauce.
- Slice the roast, coat with camelin sauce, and serve on wide slices of bread.
How it was made : Camelin sauce, brown and spicy, thickened with toasted bread and vinegar, was one of the great sauces of medieval seigneurial tables, cited by Taillevent and the English *Forme of Cury*. Venison, reserved for the nobility who alone had hunting rights, was the ultimate prestige dish of banquets.
The contemporary twist : Served as thin slices fanned out, with a swoosh of camelin sauce and toasted hazelnut crumble for crunch.
Sources : Taillevent, Le Viandier (c. 1300) · The Forme of Cury (England, c. 1390)
Morgan le Fay · Charactorium
