Sunday Roast - Impala Leg

I love cooking with venison - it is organic, less fatty than other red meats and very high in protein.  Perfect for a healthy diet!  

Ingredients:

1 Impala Leg (approx 5 kilograms with the bone)
1 Pack of Streaky Bacon
Olive Oil
12 Cloves of Garlic
8 Sticks of fresh Rosemary
A handful of fresh Thyme
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Rub the Impala Leg with olive oil, salt and pepper - don't be shy. Jab holes evenly across the top and bottom of the leg and stuff with whole garlic cloves and rosemary pieces.  Cut approx 4 long slits across the top section of the leg, and fill with rosemary sticks and bacon (bacon is used to for its fat, so that the venison isn't too dry, so try get the really fatty pieces into the slits). Cover the top of the leg with the remaining bacon pieces (squeeze them out so that they stick to the leg nicely).  Sprinkle with a generous amount of thyme, and put extra thyme and rosemary sticks around the leg.  Cover with tinfoil and place in the oven.  Roast covered for approximately 1 hour per kilogram of meat.

The Impala Leg ready to go in to the oven

Finished Roast Impala Leg, complete with Crispy Bacon

I served it with mashed potatoes and an onion gravy.  To get extra flavour in the potatoes I boiled the potato skins in the milk I was going to use with the mash - most of the flavour is in the skin. (Drain the skins from the boiled milk before adding to the mash)

Roast served with mashed potatoes and an onion gravy

When I do it again I think it would go really nicely with tzatziki (especially if it is another beautiful, sunny Durban day) and some green veggies.