This week Karma Lake of Menteith Head Chef Jamie Crombie shares a recipe that’s close to his heart – and a firm favourite at the resort, where premium quality venison and beef is sourced from the neighbouring Rednock Estate – one of our farm-to-table suppliers. This one requires some time and dedication – but we can assure you the outcome is more than worth it!
SMOKED VENISON, ORANGE, BEETROOT, PISTACHIO AND CRÈME FRAICHE
Ingredients
Method
This recipe should be started the day before service. For the brine mix together the water, soy, salt, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, pepper, juniper, rosemary and the rind of 1 orange. Then cover the venison in the brine and leave in the fridge for 12 hours. The next day remove the venison from the brine rinse and pat dry. Now gently seal the venison all round in a hot pan with some oil. I have an electric smoker here at Karma Lake of Menteith but you can get the same result using your bbq at home. First soak the wood chips and lay out on a kitchen cloth to dry off any excess water. Then light the bbq with a small amount of coals to one side of the grill, once the coals have burned to embers place the soaked wood chips on them, add the venison to the opposite side of the grill away from the direct heat, put the lid on the bbq and open the vent. The smoke should only take about 10 minutes and the venison should still be nice and pink. Allow to rest and serve hot or cold with wedges of cooked beetroot, orange segments, crème fraiche, micro coriander, toasted pistachios and a sprinkle of toasted cumin seeds.
Looks delicious! My mouth was watering reading that recipe. I can’t wait to get back to the Lake Hotel to try this. I may have a go at making it myself, but nothing beats the pleasure of a meal made for you with the freshest local ingredients and to eat it surrounded by some of the best scenery in Scotland is one of the joys of life.