Saddle of Venison—Larded—Aigrelette Sauce

Escoffier-era shorthand at its densest: three cross-references, an obsolete cut vocabulary, and no times or temperatures at all. The essentials are a sharp aromatic marinade, a barding of fat to compensate for venison's leanness, and a roast taken no further than pink.

• What the saddle isThe saddle is the unsplit loin section, both sides of the backbone, from behind the ribs to the hip. Chevreuil is French for roe deer, though Ranhofer, working in New York, would in practice have had American deer; the recipe specifies no weight or number of servings. Ask the butcher to remove the silverskin and the chine's sharp edges.
• Minion filletThe filets mignons here are the two small tenderloin strips lying under the backbone, not steaks. Turning that side up in the marinating dish means the larded back lies down in the liquid.
• LardingLarding means threading strips of fatback through the meat with a larding needle, since venison carries almost no intramuscular fat. Barding u2014 tying sheets of fatback or thin-sliced pork fat over the surface u2014 does the same job with less equipment, and comes off for the last few minutes to let the surface color.
• MignonetteCoarsely cracked white or black pepper, not a fine grind.
• Six hours of steepingThe recipe gives no storage instruction for an uncooked vinegar-and-herb marinade; keep it in the refrigerator, turning once or twice. Pat the meat thoroughly dry before it goes near heat or it will steam instead of browning.
• Oven temperature and donenessRanhofer gives none. A hot oven, 425-450F, suits a lean saddle: it needs speed, not time. Cook to an internal 125-130F at the thickest part of the loin and rest 15 minutes; go by the thermometer rather than the clock. Past about 140F venison loin turns dry and livery.
• Aigrelette sauceAigrelette means slightly tart or sour; Ranhofer sends the cook to his sauce No. 544 rather than giving it here.