Venison and Prune Terrine with Cumberland Jelly
Serves 6 to 8
Award-winning, self-taught cook and food writer Lady Claire Macdonald OBE is Scotland’s foremost ambassador for the revitalised traditions of highland hospitality. Her reputation stretches around the globe thanks to a raft of best-selling cookery books, her radio broadcasts and television appearances. While she may use Sicilian lemons or Indian chillis to add zest and zing, the absolute fundamental of her craft is good Scottish produce. Claire’s work celebrates all that is exceptional about seasonal ingredients cultivated, caught or reared in Scotland. She is the energetic Patron of Scottish Food Fortnight and The Association of Scottish Farmers’ Markets. Claire’s tireless advocacy of Scottish produce was marked, during 2005, in the presentation of a special Lifetime Achievement Award by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.
Today Kinloch Lodge is run by her daughter Isabella Macdonald.
Ingredients
For the Terrine
3 Bay Leaves
8 Streaky Bacon Rashers (smoked or un-smoked)
1 lb Very best quality Pork Sausages
1½ lb Raw Venison, finely diced (easy to do with a sharp knife)
8 No-soak Prunes, stone and chopped into 6 pieces each
For the Marinade
4 tbs Olive Oil
¼ pint Port or Red Wine
1 Onion, skinned and finely chopped
A pinch of Thyme, or a sprig of fresh leaves stripped from stalk
Pared Rind of 1 Lemon (use a potato peeler)
½ tsp Salt and plenty of freshly ground Black Pepper
4 – 5 Juniper Berries, crushed
Method
Line a loaf tin or terrine tin approx. 2 lb in size with foil.
Lay the bay leaves down the centre.
With
the blunt side of knife flatten the rashers of bacon and lay them
across the tin widthways – their ends will overhand at either side.
Put
the marinade ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a simmering
point. Simmer for 3 – 5 min., then take off the heat and leave to cool
completely before pouring over the diced venison and prunes in a dish.
Leave for several hours in a cool place – overnight if possible.
Then
pick out the strips of lemon peel, and mix together the skinned
sausages (slit each sausage with the point of a sharp knife – the skins
come off easily) and mix in the marinade, the only way to do this
thoroughly is to use your hands.
When thoroughly mixed, pack this
mixture into the bacon lined tin. Fold any overhanging bits of bacon on
top of the meat, and cover tightly with foil.
Put the tin in a roasting tin with water coming ½ way up the sides of the loaf or terrine tin.
Cook in a moderate oven, 350°F/gas mark 4/180°C, for 2 hours.
Take the tin out of the oven, and put a weight on top – a couple of tins of baked beans are ideal for this job.
When quite cold, take off the weights and store the terrine in the fridge. Slice to serve.
Serve with Cumberland Jelly:
8 oz Redcurrent Jelly
1 tbs Dijon Mustard
2 tsp Gelatine Powder
¼ pint Port
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon and of 1 orange
Put all the above ingredients into a saucepan and heat gently till the jelly has dissolved. Pour into warmed jars and seal. Store in the fridge when cold.
