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Ius in Cervo (Sauce for Venison)

Ius in Cervo (Sauce for Venison) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic sauce of pepper, lovage, shallots, nuts, dates, honey, vinegar, stock, mustard, liquamen and oil that's boiled poured over a cooked venison. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Sauce for Venison (Ius in Cervo).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

95 minutes

Total Time:

115 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Sauce RecipesSpice RecipesGame RecipesVenison RecipesAncient Roman Recipes


Original Recipe


Ius in Cervo (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria) VIII, ii, 3


Ius in cervo: piper, ligusticum, cepulam, origanum, nucleos, caryotas, mel, liquamen, sinape, acetum, oleum.

Translation


Sauce for Venison: [Mix] pepper, lovage, shallots, oregano, nuts, dates, honey, liquamen, mustard, vinegar and olive oil. [Bring to a boil and pour over the meat.]

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

2kg joint venison (either boiled until tender and roasted to colour or roasted)

For the Sauce:
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 tsp lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
4 tbsp shallots, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
2 tbsp toasted hazelnuts or almonds, chopped
2 tbsp dates, finely chopped
2 tsp honey
2 tbsp liquamen (fish sauce)
250ml game stock or beef stock
2 tsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil

Method:

Prepare the meat by boiling with a few root vegetables and a bunch of herbs for about 2 hours, or until tender then drain, place on a roasting tray and roast for about 30 minutes to colour.

About 40 minutes before the meat is due to be ready prepare the sauce. Combine the black pepper and lovage (or celery) seeds in a mortar. Grind finely then add the shallots, oregano, nuts and dates. Pound until smooth then blend in the liquamen, honey, vinegar and olive oil.

Scrape the mixture into a pan and whisk in the game stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

Arrange the meat on a serving dish, pour over the sauce and bring to the table.

Find more recipes from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria along with information on Apicius and his cookbook, all part of this site's Ancient Roman recipes collection.