Flamed Gin Sauce for a Venison Roast

Adam

Love food, love cooking. And the joy of sharing the spoils with good friends over a bottle or three.

Bottom fork in image

6 juniper berries

½ cup red wine

About 1 cup venison stock, or pan juices and/or chicken stock

1 Tbsp. butter

2 shallots, minced

¼ cup gin

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Crush the juniper berries with the flat side of a knife and add them to a small saucepan with the red wine. Cook over medium heat until the wine has reduced to a syrupy consistency. Add the stock, and continue to cook until the stock has reduced as well. Reserve.

Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the shallots. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the shallots are soft and golden.

Proceed with caution: Remove the pan from the heat and add the gin. To ignite it, you can either return the pan to the stove and tilt the pan (gas stoves only) or light the mixture with a long-handled match. Stand back; the flames will be high. Once they have subsided, stir, and continue to cook until most of the gin has evaporated. Add the reserved wine-and-stock mixture, and cook until it coats a spoon. Drain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the shallots, salt and pepper to taste, and return to the saucepan to keep warm.

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