Venison with Red Berry Sauce

[Recipes Index] [World of Chefs]

Ingredients:

For the Meat Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley chopped 
• 4 tablespoons fresh thyme or lemon thyme chopped 
• 3 bay leaves, minced or crumbled 
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 
• 4 pounds venison tenderloin (sirloin can be substituted)

For the Sauce:

• 1 garlic clove crushed and minced
• 1 large onion finely chopped 
• 1 tablespoon Italian flat-leaf parsley chopped 
• 3 tablespoons fresh thyme or lemon thyme, chopped 
• 10 bay leaves, minced or crumbled 
• 1/4 cup Romeu extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 cup red wine 
• 1/4 cup red currant jelly 
• 1/2 cup cognac or any other good quality brandy 
• Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Preparation:

Cut ½ cup of very small trimmings from the meat and set aside for preparation of the sauce.

To prepare the meat marinade, put the parsley, thyme, bay leaves and oil in a small bowl and mix together to form a thick marinade. Add salt and pepper to taste, and completely cover all sides of the meat with the marinade. Place the herb-covered meat in a glass bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate it overnight.

Before making the sauce, remove the meat from the refrigerator and allow it to return to room temperature while making the sauce. To begin the sauce preparation, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Sauté the garlic, onion, parsley, thyme and bay leaves, for 5 minutes or until the onions are tender. Increase the heat to medium, add the meat trimmings and cook a few minutes longer until the meat begins to brown. Pour in the wine and leave the skillet uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the meat is thoroughly cooked. Remove the skillet from the heat, and when it cools down a little, transfer the mixture to a food processor and puree. Pour the pureed mixture back into the skillet, add the jelly and the cognac. Adjust the seasonings to taste with the salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat stirring with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes. If you would like to thicken the sauce, mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and stir the cornstarch mixture into the sauce when the skillet is off the heat. Return the skillet to the heat and stir to finish thickening the sauce. Remove the skillet from the heat, cover, and set aside.

To cook the venison, preheat a skillet over medium high heat. Remove the herb marinade and scrape it completely off the venison. Carve the meat into 1½ inch thick slices, brush both sides of the meat slices with olive oil and season each side with salt and pepper. Quickly sear the meat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side to seal in the juices. Lower the temperature to medium heat and continue cooking the meat on each side according to your preference for rare to well-cooked meat. At this point, reheat the sauce over low heat. Arrange the venison on a warm serving platter and ladle the warm sauce over the meat. Garnish with parsley or fresh red currants on the side.