May be decidedly called the second great pedestal; turtle soup and
haunch of venison certainly being the two great pedestals, or Gog and
Magog of English cookery. It is appreciated from the independent citizen
to the throne; for where is there a citizen of taste, a man of wealth,
or a gourmet, who does not pay due homage to this delicious and
recherché joint, which ever has and ever will be in vogue; but even
after all that nature has done in point of flavour, should it fall into
the hands of some inexperienced person to dress, and be too much done,
its appearance and flavour would be entirely spoilt, its delicious and
delicate fat melted, and the gravy lost; of the two it would be
preferred underdone, but that is very bad and hardly excusable, when it
requires nothing but attention to serve this glorious dish in
perfection.
A good haunch of venison weighing from about twenty to twenty-five
pounds will take from three to four hours roasting before a good solid
fire; trim the haunch by cutting off part of the knuckle and sawing off
the chine bone, fold the flap over, then envelope it in a flour and
water paste rather stiff, and an inch thick, tie it up in strong paper,
four sheets in thickness, place it in your cradle spit so that it will
turn quite even, place it at first very close to the fire until the
paste is well crusted, pouring a few ladlefuls of hot dripping over
occasionally to prevent the paper catching fire, then put it rather
further from the fire, which must be quite clear, solid, and have
sufficient frontage to throw the same heat on every part of the venison;
when it has roasted the above time take it up, remove it from the paste
and paper, run a thin skewer into the thickest part to ascertain if
done, if it resists the skewer it is not done, and must be tied up and
put down again, but if the fire is good that time will sufficiently cook
it, glaze the top well, salamander until a little brown, put a frill
upon the knuckle, and serve very hot with plenty of plain boiled French
beans separate. For the mode of carving a haunch of venison, see
preface.