It's taken me a while to find my recipe for venison. I'm not a hunter and I haven't been gifted with any venison for some years now. The original version of this recipe was published in a local cookbook published by the Service League, whatever that was, of Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1967. I've messed with it over the years to suit myself. The marinade tenderizes the meat and infuses it with a wonderful flavor, which is complimented by the tart/sweet currant sauce.

The original recipe calls for a 6-7 pound haunch of vension. I'm not sure what cut a 'haunch' is supposed to be, I just always use chunks that look like roasts. I'm not much of a butcher either. *G* You might want to adjust your quantities down if you've not got anything that big, but marinades are not an exact science. Do pay attention to the cooking times if you have a smaller piece of meat.

1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbs. chopped green onions
2 large carrots, chopped
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp. each thyme, marjoram, tarragon, basil, rosemary
pinch of sugar
2 cups dry red wine
olive oil
salt, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper or tabasco
2 cloves garlic

bacon
currant jelly
flour


Mix the first ten ingredients into a bowl big enough to hold the meat. Submerge the meat into the marinade and leave it in the fridge for at least 24 hours, turning from time to time. Reserve some of the marinade for the currant sauce either now or after you've used it for the meat. Back 40 years ago, people weren't so squeamish about using anything that had touched raw meat.

When you're ready to cook your dinner, preheat the oven to 450. Remove the meat from the marinade and place on a rack in a baking pan. Top with strips of raw bacon. I cover my pan with foil because I hate cleaning ovens. This of course will produce a more moist heat, and can shorten cooking time, or make it take longer to get tender, depending on what sort of 'haunch' you've got. For the 6-7 pound roast, cook at 450 for about 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 325 and cook 20-30 minutes more per pound.

When it's done to your liking, remove the meat. Pour the drippings into a skillet, scraping the pan to get all the loose bits out. Over medium low heat, add some of the leftover marinade and currant jelly, how much depends on the quantity of your drippings and marinade. Taste it! You're going for a tart/sweet flavor here. Mix a little flour with some of the marinade/drippings and re-add that to thicken your sauce. Bring just to a boil, stirring all the while.

Enjoy!