Jagermeister venison

St. Hubertus is the patron saint of hunters, but he wasn’t always a saint.

Growing up as a hunter in the 7th Century, Hubertus was as wild spirited as the game he hunted. He was quite trigger with his bow and arrow and killed not just for food, but for the bloodlusting thrill of the hunt. His lack of restraint and remorse made him a terrible threat to the balance of nature.

When his bloodlust got out of hand, a deer showed up and told him to settle down. Normally, Hubertus would have shot the deer between the eyes with an arrow and sent his dogs after it, but when this holy deer showed up with a glowing white cross between its antlers, Hubertus knew this was no ordinary deer. Hubertus turned over a new leaf and began to exercise some self-restraint and ethical hunting practices. The holy deer was pleased with the change and Hubertus was dubbed the Patron Saint of Hunters because he would hunt only for food and maintained the natural balance.

Here is a great recipe for hunters (or gatherers) using venison or elk tenderloin and Jagermeister(not just for Jagerbombs).

The addition of Jagermeister (German for ‘Master Hunter’) to the black currant and wild mushroom sauce adds a great herby aroma and ties into the story of St. Hubertus (check out the holy deer on the bottle). The wild rice  and brussel sprouts complete the meal and you will be surprised how well these two overlooked foods pair up.

Oh deer, what is Venison?

In the loosest sense of the word, Venison can apply to any wild animal hunted for sustenance and can include everything from moose to raccoon. Most hunters would consider Venison to be the meat from any wild hooved animal and generally refers to Elk, Deer and occasionally moose or boar.

But according to the scientific community, venison is the technical term given only to the meat from a deer meant for human consumption and does not include elk or Moose in the category.

For the purposes of this recipe, we are going to take the broader sense of the word Venison that includes elk, deer and moose, so feel free to use the New York Cut from any of these animals for this recipe.

Venison steak with black currant,wild mushroom and Jagermesiter sauce with brusseled up wild rice

INGREDIENTS

2 New York cut Elk or Deer steaks

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 shallot, finely minced

25g of mixed dried wild mushrooms

2 oz Jagermesiter

2 Tbsp Black currant jelly

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup wild rice

6 brussel sprouts, shaved super thin

1 Tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter

pinch nutmeg

 PROCEDURE

Pour one cup of boiling water into a bowl with the dried mushrooms. Cover and set aside to soften for 30 minutes while you prepare everything else.

Grab one medium pot and two frying pans to get started. Get two cups of water into the medium pot and bring it to a boil. When it boils add the wild rice and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 20 minutes then add the shredded brussel sprouts, put a lid on it and reduce the heat to low. After 20 more minutes, remove the lid, add the butter, nutmeg and salt. Stir it all together.

In a medium pot, sweat the shallots with butter over medium heat. Scoop out the softened mushrooms with a slotted spoon and place in the pan with the butter and shallots. Set the mushroom liquid aside for making the sauce.

Crank the heat up to high on the mushrooms and cook for 2 more minutes stirring occasionally, to develop some colour.

Pour out the Jagermeister shots and add them carefully to the mushrooms, being careful of not letting them catch on fire. Cook out the alcohol smell for 2 more minutes before adding the mushroom liquid to the pan. Pour the liquid slowly without pouring in the gritty sediment at the bottom of the bowl.

Add the black currant jelly and the vinegar, stirring to incorporate. Continue cooking on high for 15 minutes to reduce the sauce and concentrate the flavours.

In the meantime, get your other pan on the stove over medium heat and let the dry pan heat up for 5 minutes. Prepare your steaks by drizzling with oil and seasoning with salt.

Gently place the steaks in the hot pan with space between all of them. They will sizzle and spit, but that is what you want. Do not move them once they are in the pan. Just let them mellow out and get brown. Cook on each side for 3 ½ – 4 minutes only and remove it from the pan when they are done. You can pour your sauce into the steak pan to pick up all the browny goodness.

Serve a scoop of wild rice with a ladle of the sauce. Lay the steak jauntily up against the rice, finish with a some more sauce on top. Enjoy with an ice cold shot of Jagermeister.