After a quick browsing of techniques and recipes on the internet, I decided to take inspiration from a bunch of recipes to make this walnut and herb crusted rack of venison with blackberry and red wine reduction.
I treated it very much like any other "rack of" meat. The rack was cut into portions, then set out for about 30 minutes to come up to temperature. It was then lightly peppered and pan seared on medium-high in some grapeseed oil to get a bit of caramelization on all sides.
After all four portions were nicely browned, they each got a slathering of Dijon mustard and a generous coating of ground walnuts, breadcrumbs and thyme (along with salt, pepper, garlic).
Into the preheated 425°C for 35 minutes, longer for those who preferred it more medium/well. I just give it a little poke and a bit of a squeeze, though I'm sure a meat thermometer could come in handy too.
While the venison was roasting, I made a simple sauce using the same pan as before. Heated to medium, a clove of minced garlic, fresh crushed thyme and finely minced shallots got a quick sautée then turning the heat up a little more-I added about a quarter cup of red wine to deglaze.
A good tablespoon or two of blackberry jam was stirred in and then I let it reduce about half. Sugar, salt and pepper to taste and lastly a healthy pat of butter was swirled in to make the sauce extra decadent.
I roasted potato wedges and cauliflower as sides, which were good (really, I just wanted to shove as much in the oven...'cause I hate cleaning), but would probably recommend a nice creamy mash (potato/parsnip) and brussels sprouts or rapini.