No. 2187

Saddle of Venison a la Macmahon

Selle de Chevreuil a la MacMahon

Pare and marinate a saddle the same as for a l'Athalin (No. 2186). One hour before dinner drain and roast it in the oven, and when done skim off the fat and put in half a pint of the marinade and as much raw cream; reduce the sauce, cut some medium-sized apples in quarters, range them in a liberally buttered sautoir, bestrew with a little powdered sugar and pour butter over, place in the oven, and when cooked dress the saddle, glaze and pour over a little gravy (No. 404); range the apples on each side and serve the sauce separately.

← No. 2186 Saddle of Venison a l'Athalin Venison & Large Game No. 2188 Saddle of Venison a la Morton →

For the Modern Kitchen

A short entry from Ranhofer that assumes you have already read No. 2186 for the trimming and marinating, and No. 404 for the gravy. The essentials are recoverable, but two things need attention: the cross-references and the fact that the sauce is built from used marinade.

What the missing steps were"Pare" means trimming the saddle of silverskin and the tough outer membrane; the loins are very lean, and period practice for such a roast was often to lard or bard them. The marinade of the Athalin recipe is not reproduced here; marinades of this kind are typically wine-based, with a little vinegar or lemon, sliced onion, carrot, thyme, bay and peppercorns, cooled before it goes over the meat. One to two days in the refrigerator is ample for farmed venison.
Boil the marinadeThe half pint (one cup) of marinade has been sitting on raw meat. It goes into the hot roasting pan and is reduced with the cream, which handles it, but do not shortcut by adding it at the end off the heat. Bring it to a full boil and reduce it properly.
Cream and reduction"Raw cream" simply means unboiled, unscalded cream: use heavy cream. A cup of marinade plus a cup of cream reduces to a scant cup of sauce, thin by modern standards. Strain it, and if it splits from the wine's acidity, whisk in a knob of cold butter off the heat.
Oven heatThe recipe gives no temperature. A hot oven, in the 425-450F range, suits a saddle in a modern kitchen. Ranhofer's timetable has the saddle drained and put in to roast one hour before dinner. A 5-6 lb saddle wants roughly 25-35 minutes at that heat, but go by temperature, not the clock.
DonenessVenison loin is at its best pulled at 125-130F internal and rested 15 minutes; it is dry and livery past 140F. This is the hinge of the dish.
SautoirA shallow straight-sided pan, roughly what is now sold as a saute pan. The apples are quartered, buttered, sugared and baked, not fried: 375-400F for 20-25 minutes until tender at the edges and lightly caramelized. A firm variety holds its shape; Granny Smith or Braeburn will not collapse.
The glaze and No. 404"Glaze" means brushing the roast with reduced meat glaze for shine. No. 404 is the gravy the recipe cross-refers to; its formula is not given here. A good demi-glace or a reduced game stock stands in without harm.
YieldA whole saddle serves six to eight as a main course. Carve the loins off the bone in long slices, or cut down in thick chops across the saddle, and send the sauce to the table separately as directed.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of his long tenure - more than thirty years, with a break - as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and its naming habits are those of the grand French kitchen: dishes carry the names of patrons, performers and public figures. "A la MacMahon" is generally taken to honor Patrice de MacMahon, the French marshal who became president of the Third Republic in 1873 - one of a whole family of garnishes and preparations christened after Second Empire and early Republican notables. The dish itself is less an invention than an arrangement of settled European game practice: a marinated saddle of roe deer (chevreuil), a sauce made by deglazing with the marinade and cream, and baked apples as the sweet-acid foil that northern kitchens have paired with venison for centuries. What marks it as American and of its moment is the context - roe deer is a European animal, and a New York kitchen serving this in the 1880s and 1890s would have been working with native deer while keeping the French name intact on the menu.