The A-Z of Venison: Annatjie Reynolds, a Karoo Legend in Her Own Lifetime

Annatjie Reynolds became a Karoo legend simply by staying on her farm and doing what she knows best. Over time, her reputation spread across the region and far beyond it. Now, a new book promises to put that knowledge on the shelves.

Reynolds describes the book as “This book of ours is actually my farm course file in book form. It’s all there is to know.” The word “ours” is important. The project is a collaboration with her longtime friend Lynne Minnaar, continuing a publishing partnership that began more than 25 years ago.

Their first project, Karoo Family Favourites, appeared in 1999 as a fundraising effort for the Union Prep school in Graaff-Reinet. The book collected parents’ favorite recipes and went through several reprints. Some of those recipes used venison, and readers soon began asking for more.

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This book of ours is actually my farm course file in book form. It’s all there is to know.

In 2003, Reynolds, Minnaar and their friend Albè Neethling produced Karoo Venison, a collection of new recipes designed to make venison suitable for everyday cooking. Reynolds had developed specialist knowledge while working as a home economist at the now-defunct Meat Board, where she studied carcasses, meat cuts, their uses, recipes and demonstrations. She also credits Sannie Smit as an important mentor.

The first two reprints of Karoo Venison were self-published before Jonathan Ball Publishers took over and produced three more. Marketing the book led Reynolds to give demonstrations and later run courses on her farm. The new volume gathers that practical knowledge, including recipes such as kudu liver pâté with jerepigo jelly.

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Lovely book with favourite recipes of parents at that time. It was a very good project with about three or four reprints. In the Karoo Family Favourites were some venison recipes and people started asking for more.