Roast venison with spicy plum sauce

Buying free-range meat is an ethical choice so the Christmas treats on my menu this season include New Zealand farm-raised pork and turkey sourced from farms ‘down by the Southern Alps’. The venison isn’t totally free-range — meaning wild. It comes from deer that roam happily in their clean green pastures in Hawke’s Bay. And the crayfish that freely wander our sea floors would have some cooks arguing its flesh is not meat. But they haven't seen the meaty-sized cray in my freezer. It is definitely a festive dish.

I bought the venison online from woodburnvenison.co.nz.

Spicy plum sauce

8	Black Doris plums, or similar, stoned and chopped (Main)
1 cup	Red wine
2	Star anise
1 pinch	Cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp	Honey

Venison

2	Venison tenderloins, 320g each (Main)
8 cloves	Garlic, crushed
¼ cup	Thyme leaves
¼ cup	Red wine
¼ cup	Extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch	Allspice
1 serving	Olive oil

Directions

1. To prepare the sauce, cook the plums in the wine, spices and honey, until very soft. Remove the star anise. Purée then sieve.
2. To roast the venison, first place in a large plastic bag. Add the other ingredients — except the extra olive oil. Move the meat around so it is well covered. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, turning occasionally.
3. Return the meat to room temperature
4. Preheat the oven to 200C. Discard the marinade and pat the meat dry. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
5. Heat about 2 tablespoons of the extra olive oil in a non-stick frying pan suitable for the hob and oven. Brown the meat on all sides. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10 minutes.
6. Great served with crispy roast potatoes, steamed greens and the plum sauce.