Wild venison steaks are easy to prepare and best cooked medium rare and then left a few minutes to rest before serving. They are very lean (half the fat and lower in cholesterol than beef) and are great with a punchy dressing. This recipe comes from Taste of Game.
You can replace the gherkin dressing with onion gravy which we prefer in winter months (see below). Or you can just rub the spices into the steaks, cook and slice very thinly and enjoy without a sauce at all. Either way, the meat is super tender and tasty.
Ingredients
- 4 venison haunch steaks
- 50 gms baby gherkins
- 1 shallot peeled
- 50 gms baby capers
- 1 tomato
- 1 tbs flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tsp cajun spices (salt, paprika, cayenne, ground cumin, garlic powder, pepper, oregano, thyme)
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 4 tsp olive oil
- vegetable oil
- salt and pepper
Method
- Generously brush the venison steaks with oil, then season and rub all over with the Cajun spices.
- In a very hot pan, ribbed griddle plate or BBQ, sear the steaks on each side to the degree you prefer.
- Once cooked, remove the steaks from the pan and allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Slice the steak at an angle, about half a centimetre thick.
- Depending on how rare you like your meat, you can put the slices back in the pan to cook through a bit more. In winter we serve with gravy instead of gherkin dressing.
- For a cold, summer dish with the gherkin dressing: Skin, de-seed and finely dice the tomato. Chop the parsley and keep to one side. Finely dice the gherkins and shallots and mix well with the baby capers, vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste and add in the tomato and parsley. Spoon a generous serving of the dressing over the steaks and serve straight away.
You should be able to get wild venison (not farmed) from your local butcher. You can also get local wild venison when it is in season from Juliette at Savernake Game. The more local the better. We have an unprecedently high deer population in England and they do a lot of damage to woodland.
