Preparation: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour marinating time
Cooking: 2 hours, plus resting time
Serves 8

Ingredients

1 × 3-kg/6½ lb haunch of venison, haunch of venison, on the bone
500 ml/17 fl oz (generous 2 cups) venison or beef stock (broth)
150 ml/5 fl oz (2/3 cup) port
12 plums, halved and stoned (pitted)
1 bay leaf

For the marinade

75 ml/2½ fl oz (1/3 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
75 g/2¾ oz (1/3 cup firmly packed) soft brown sugar
50 g/2 oz (4 tablespoons) butter, melted
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Brush the haunch of venison with the marinade and allow to stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
Put the venison into a roasting pan and roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Add the stock (broth), port, plums and bay leaf to the pan and roast for a further 45 minutes, basting the venison intermittently with the liquid, until it reaches a core temperature of 60°C/140°F on a meat thermometer.

Allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Recipes from The Irish Cookbook by Jp McMahon  © Phaidon
Signed copies available to purchase from www.aniarrestaurant.ie