Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C (conventional). Score the haunch lightly at the bone. Crush the juniper berries, pepper, salt and ground ginger in a mortar and rub all over the meat.
- Heat the clarified butter in a roasting pan and sear the haunch on all sides. Add the onions, soup vegetables, bay leaf, peppercorns and thyme, and pour in the game stock and red wine.
- Braise, covered, in the oven for about 2 hours, basting the haunch with the stock now and then and turning it after 1 hour. From about 1 hour 30 minutes, test it with a fork: it is done when the fork slides in easily.
- Take the haunch out, wrap in foil and keep warm in the switched-off oven.
- Boil the stock with the vegetables (first removing the bay leaf and thyme) for about 5 minutes and purée finely, pressing through a sieve if necessary. Stir in the redcurrant jelly and crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper; if the sauce is too thin, reduce it a little more.
- Cut the meat from the bone, slice and serve with the sauce; dumplings or boiled potatoes and red cabbage go well with it.
Drink with it
Red wine · excellent match
Blaufränkisch or Dornfelder aged in oak
Dark fruit and structure stand up to the strong game stock, and the redcurrant fruit in the wine mirrors the jelly in the sauce.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosingRed wine · excellent match
Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) with a little oak
Soft tannins and cherry fruit accompany the creamy sauce without overwhelming the lean game.
Dark beer · good match
Dark full-bodied beer or schwarzbier
Roasted malt and a little sweetness suit the braised aromas and the redcurrant note, and the carbonation loosens the cream sauce.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue