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Irish spice-rubbed loin of venison in pancetta with whiskey sauce

Two plates of roast pork and green veg

Irish spice-rubbed loin of venison in pancetta with whiskey sauce

Name: Irish spice-rubbed loin of venison in pancetta with whiskey sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients: 500g venison loin trimmed; 2½ tbsp rapeseed oil; 10 slices of smoked pancetta; 1 savoy cabbage cored and shredded; 30g unsalted butter; 4 juniper berries finely chopped; 2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary; 2 tbsp finely chopped thyme; 2 garlic cloves finely chopped; ¼ tsp ground allspice; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; 55g unsalted butter; 1 tbsp rapeseed oil; 2 long shallots thinly sliced; 200g chestnut mushrooms sliced; 2 tsp chopped thyme; 1 garlic clove chopped; 55ml Irish whiskey; 300ml beef stock; 3 tbsp double cream

Cherie Denham

Published: December 10, 2025 at 10:17 AM

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Serves 4

Easy

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 30 mins

plus resting

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The sharpness of the whiskey cuts through the cream in the sauce, and the mushrooms add depth of flavour. I love this served with mashed
carrots and swede

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Try our Irish spice-rubbed loin of venison in pancetta with whiskey sauce, then check out our venison stew, venison curry, venison pie, venison steaks, venison burgers and more venison recipes.

In this recipe the venison loin is gently rolled in herbs and spices before being wrapped in pancetta, and browned before being roasted. The sharpness of the whiskey cuts through the cream in the sauce, and the mushrooms add depth of flavour. The sauce can be made in advance and swirled around in the pan after the venison has been cooked. I love this served with mashed carrots and swede.

Cook, preserver, baker and author Cherie Denham says: "To truly understand Irish food you need to cook in simplicity, shaped by the land and sea, and passed down through generations. It’s not about fancy techniques or elaborate dishes, it’s about honest, comforting, down-to-earth food made with care and shared with others.

"I was brought up on a farm, nestled in County Tyrone in rural N Ireland. My Mummy, Aunties and Grannies cooked with what they had to hand: potatoes pulled from the garden, wild berries gathered from the hedgerows, soda bread fresh from the oven and homemade butter. The press was stocked with homemade jellies and jams made from crab apples and rosehips, damsons, blackberries and strawberries.

"The flavours are clean and comforting, and the ingredients aren’t trendy, they’re traditional. Creamy dairy from grass-fed cows, tender lamb, wild Atlantic seafood and earthy root veg. I often went to the local market with mummy on a Wednesday after school if we ran out of vegetables. She’d buy a huge sack of potatoes, a bag of carrots and a few swedes or turnips, as they were called, still all with mud on them. Apples and rhubarb were very popular, and used predominantly to make tarts. Bramley apples have a Protected Geographical Indication in County Armagh, which is affectionately known as The Orchard County.

"To cook here is to respect the seasons and surroundings – it’s warming the teapot before pouring the first cup, baking something sweet and welcoming for when guests are due, and always sending them home with a loaf of fresh bread, jar of jam or tin of biscuits. It’s food that brings people together, whether it’s a Sunday dinner, bowl of stew at the kitchen table or cup of tea and soda bread in your hand. Eating and drinking in Ireland is welcoming, unpretentious and full of warmth – whether it’s a pint of Guinness in the local pub or oysters by the sea, the experience is always the same, rooted in place, people and tradition."

Recipes extracted from The Irish Kitchen by Cherie Denham (£30, Montgomery Press). Photographs: Andrew Montgomery. Recipes are sent by the publisher and not retested by us.