I carry no phone An aspiring Luddite In a wired world. Mastodon Verification Link	Jeff Berry is an early adopter of the Internet and the Web, a late adopter of Twitter, and declines to adopt Facebook. With the death of Google+, he migrated to the Fediverse. He admins a medievalist Mastodon instance. He hates cell-phones.

As I may have mentioned before, possibly with annoying frequency, loin is not my favorite cut of meat. It's pricy, tends to have less flavor than some of the bits I like, and leans toward leanness - excessive leanness. After this week, it is just barely possible that I will revise my opinion, at least a little bit.

I had a piece of venison loin in the freezer and wanted to do something with it other than my usual slice-it-and-sear it. I'm not quite sure where the idea of doing a crust came from, but once the idea reared its head, it wouldn't go. My fear, of course, was that the meat would be too dry after a roasting. The solution, or at least a solution seemed to be a marinade. I didn't want a brine, but instead something heavy on the lipids to try to lubricate the meat. My hope was that this, in combination with a crust which might seal some moisture in, would suffice.

And so it began ...

• a nice piece of loin or tenderloin (see below)
• the marinade
  • 1/2 an onion, sliced
  • 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 6 juniper berries
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
  • a splash of red wine
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 3-4 Tbs herbs, whatever you have handy and like
• 3-4 Tbs strong prepared mustard

Let's talk for just a moment about the meat. I used a piece of venison loin, about a foot long and maybe three inches across the thick part, a little less top-to-bottom. You could certainly use pork, or even beef, loin or tenderloin instead. If you use a piece which is of a significantly different size, you'll need to adjust your cooking time appropriately. About which more later ...

Mix your marinade up and plop the meat into it. I used a red onion this time, but that's simply because I had one that wasn't getting any younger; a yellow onion would be fine. I like the juniper berries in marinades, especially game, but I use it in pork as well. In any case, squish the meat into the marinade and let it sit at least overnight. I usually marinade in a plastic freezer bag, for what that's worth. I find it lets me get better coverage without worrying too much about the size of my marinating vessel.

Remove the meat from the marinade and set it aside. Remove the juniper berries from the marinade and dump the rest into a saucepan. Put the pan on low heat and let it simmer while you do everything else, including the roasting of the meat. If you'd like add a splash of wine or whiskey to the sauce, just to round out the flavor a bit.

Pat the meat dry. Prepare your crust by mixing your herbs with the bread crumbs. You can use whatever herbs you like, fresh or dried. The quantities given are approximate, adjust them depending on the strength of your herbs and your personal preference. I used about a tablespoon each of dried thyme, rosemary and lemongrass.

Prep the meat! Smear it liberally on all sides with a good, strong prepared mustard. I like a smooth English style mustard, but a French style Dijon would be good. A coarse, grainy mustard would make an interesting variation, as well. Three or four tablespoons were enough to get good coverage on my loin, so to speak, but use your own judgement. Then roll the loin in the crumbs. Again, make sure to good coverage. Press the crumbs into the roast on all sides with gentle, yet firm, pressure. Pack it nicely all 'round. Then place it delicately into a roasting dish. Pop it into a pre-heated 350F oven for an hour.

That hour is the outside limit for a venison loin this size. As it was, the loin was very nearly overdone. So be careful! The crust makes it a little tricky to judge the doneness by looking at the meat itself, so a thermometer is probably a good idea. When the meat is done, remove it from the roasting pan and let it rest. Go back to your marinade, which is now a sauce. Mush it or purée it (I used a potato masher). Scrape any drippings or fallen-off bits of crust from the roasting pan (there shouldn't be much) into the sauce. Adjust the seasoning - note that no salt has yet been added to anything, although the mustard contains some. Your sauce should now resemble an onion chutney.

Slice the meat, plate it and top it with some of your sauce. A little more mustard on the side is not a bad idea, but may not be necessary. A green salad is a nice accompaniment.

One of the nice things about this dish is its recyclability. For leftovers, it is simplicity itself to take two or three slices and give them a quick reheating sear in a hot pan. The picture heading this article is, in fact, just such leftovers. I quartered some brussels sprouts and the other half of the red onion, sautéed them in olive oil until not quite done, then pushed them to one side of the pan. I laid the slices of meat in the skillet, then scooped the sprouts and onions back on top to finish cooking while the venison got a little color below. It might even have been better the second time around ...