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Roast fallow rump with a Marmite and chive butter
Only four ingredients are needed for José Souto’s roast fallow rump dish – best served with a generous helping of seasonal produce
The fallow stalking season gives us some top-quality venison. Fallow are high on my agenda as the bucks have a layer of fat in the run up to the rut, which can give a crispy outer crust to the meat if trimmed well. Young, immature animals also have this fat and, due to them not rutting, make even better eating. This fat can be mixed into minced venison to create a no-pork burger or sausage mix, and I have also used the fat-covered loins of these deer to dry cure and cold smoke, making a sort of venison bacon.
I love stalking these new-season bucks. The animals are strong, fit and ready for the winter. Additionally, the deeper we go into autumn the more it gives up in the way of wonderful seasonal produce – gamebirds, chestnuts, sloes, blackberries and wild mushrooms. Food is never better than when it’s in season and naturally grown. A lecturer of mine once poured scorn on farmed wild mushrooms. “They are not wild. They are not even angry,” he quipped.
Why seasonality and provenance matter in game cookery
Like so many chefs, I relish wild harvesting in the autumn. Our menus change to reflect what’s available and what bounty the countryside provides. We offer game at Capital City College every week throughout the season, starting with grouse as soon as we get back in September.
It is important for our students to understand not only seasonality and quality but also how lucky we are to have these fantastic ingredients readily available to us. It is also important to understand the provenance of the food we use, with game that is traceable, healthy, ethical and as natural as can be.
Ingredients
- 100g butter
- 10g Marmite
- 2tsp finely chopped chives
- 1 D-shaped venison rump
How to make roast fallow rump with Marmite and chive butter – step by step
- Step 1. Take the butter out of the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature until it softens. Once soft, place it in a bowl, add the Marmite and finely chopped chives and mix well. Lay out a piece of greaseproof paper and place the seasoned butter on it. Then roll the paper up to form a cylindrical tube and place in the fridge to set.
- Step 2. Take the rump and trim away a small layer of outer fat, leaving a 1cm covering over the meat. Score the remaining fat with a criss-cross pattern or thin lines to break it up a little. Heat up a pan, season the meat and place fat-down into the pan. As the pan heats, the fat will begin to render down and you will end up with a 5mm covering of crispy fat.
- Step 3. Once the fat has rendered down sufficiently, turn the meat over to seal the other side and use a spoon to baste the meat as it cooks. Cook to the level you would like (venison rump is best cooked no more than medium) then remove the meat and place it on a warm plate to rest.
- Step 4. Remove the butter from the fridge and cut it into thin slices (roughly 5mm) through the paper. Once cut, remove the paper. Slice the meat and, while still warm, add the butter to melt on top. Serve the meat with plenty of seasonal produce.
Tips for roasting venison rump
Leave a 1cm layer of fat on the rump and score it, then start the meat fat-down so the fat renders to a crisp 5mm covering. Venison rump is best cooked no more than medium. The butter needs time in the fridge to set before it can be sliced, so make it first.
Frequently asked questions
Why is fallow venison good for roasting?
Fallow bucks carry a layer of fat before the rut, and young animals have it too. Trimmed well and rendered in the pan, it gives the meat a crispy outer crust.
How do you make Marmite and chive butter?
Soften 100g butter, mix in 10g Marmite and 2tsp finely chopped chives, roll it into a tube in greaseproof paper and chill it until set, then cut it into slices of roughly 5mm.
How should venison rump be cooked?
José Souto says venison rump is best cooked no more than medium. Render the fat side first, then seal the other side, baste, and rest the meat on a warm plate before slicing.
About the author
José Souto
A London chef, lecturer and game specialist, José is senior chef lecturer in culinary arts at Westminster Kingsway College, where he trained himself. Born in Britain to Spanish parents, he spent childhood holidays hunting and fishing with one side of the family in Andalucia and learning about produce from the farming side in Galicia. He cooked at the House of Commons for more than 11 years, with sabbaticals at Mosimann’s, The Ritz, the Savoy Grill and the Intercontinental Park Lane, and it was a game training manual he wrote there that took him back to the college to lecture. He is the author of Venison: The Game Larder and Feathers: The Game Larder, both photographed by Steve Lee, runs game seminars for chefs and the public, and is a keen stalker and falconer.
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