SPRINGBOK ROLL RIB
Ingredients
1 springbuck rib, boned (this is easy, but if you lack the confidence, ask your butcher!)
250 g mixed dried fruit
250 g bacon
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
wine to sprinkle the meat
meat stock
olive oil
string to bind the rib
Method
Marinade the garlic for twenty minutes in the olive oil, to absorb the flavour. Rub the entire rib with the garlic-flavoured olive oil and season with salt and pepper (bear in mind that you use bacon for the filling, so do not use too much salt). Place strips of bacon across the rib. Alternate rows of each of the following: dried apples, peaches and pears to cover the whole rib (do not use the apricots, as they tend to be sour). Roll the rib and secure with string. Rub the outside of the rib with olive oil. Heat oil in a pan and seal the rib on all sides to prevent loss of meat juices. Place the rolled rib on tinfoil, with the shiny side on the inside. Sprinkle lightly with wine; season with salt and pepper. Place two of the rib bones on the foil with the meat and roll them up with the meat (to enhance the flavour). Transfer the meat into a casserole and add a little water, so that the rib steams in its own juices and not in the water. Add water, if necessary, to prevent burning. The cooking period will be determined by your preferred degree of doneness. Once the rib is done, remove the foil, to brown the rib or baste with the glaze*. Leave the rib to rest in a warming drawer and remove the string. Slice and make a gravy with the pan juices to serve with the meat.
*Glaze sauce
15 ml lemon juice
15 ml soya sauce
125 ml apricot jam
125 ml sherry
Mix and baste rib. Serve with canned quinces, cauliflower with cheese sauce and pumpkin fritters.
By Anita van der Merwe
(Recipe and image courtesy of Camdeboo Karoo Venison)