Expert: Keith Patton - 1/5/2008

Question
I was once served a grilled venison backstrap topped with a sweet au jous sauce that was wonderful.  I don't know what was in the sauce - but I think it was some kind of fruit/berry.  I've been looking for a recipe to make this.  Have you any ideas?  Thanks so much for any help!!


Answer
Rod:

I had a similar dish at the Hilton in San Antonio. I asked the cook how they prepared it and what was in the sauce.
They seared the tenderloin cut (back strap to you) in a hot skillet, just rolling it in the skillet to quickly brown it, you might butter the meat first or add butter to a hot skillet.  After browing it they put it into a hot oven till the internal temp was 135-140, no more this will keep it rare to medium rare.  

The sauce was made with beef consume' and currants simmered, with pepper added.  You can sweeten it to taste with sugar and add a shot of brandy flavored or unflavored.
I remember the dish being very good, but not overly sweet.
Rasins might make it a bit sweeter if you choose to use them in place of currants.  Let the sauce simmer to plump up the currants or rasins and you can thicken it a bit with some corn starch and water.  Use this sparingly until it thickens to the desired consistency.

Other dishes along this line are:

Venison with juniper berries, not sweet more savory, (juniper is the flavoring in gin)

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 pounds (1 k) venison, ideally thigh, boned and cubed
A carrot, diced
An onion, diced
A rib of celery, diced
A bay leaf
An 8-inch (20 cm) sprig of rosemary
A piece of stick cinnamon
Several peppercorns
2-3 cloves
8 juniper berries, crushed in a mortar (or the bottom of a glass)
A bottle of dry red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup unsalted butter
A shot of grappa or brandy
Salt to taste
PREPARATION:
After boning and cubing the venison, put it in a large bowl with the diced vegetables, herbs, and spices; pour the wine over it all and marinate it for at least several hours, turning the pieces occasionally, or a day if you can.

Come time to cook the meat, heat the oil and butter in a pot. Remove the meat from the marinade using a slotted spoon (reserve the marinade) and brown it over a brisk flame, seasoning it with some salt. Add the grappa and continue to cook until it has evaporated. Next, stir in the marinade, reduce the flame, and simmer, covered, for at least 2 hours. Come time to serve the meat, transfer the pieces from the sauce to a serving dish with a slotted spoon; but the pan drippings and vegetables through a strainer (or blend them, but if you do be careful to remove the bay leaf and the rosemary), spoon the resulting sauce over the meat, and serve.

The following dish could be greatly simplified by using either just the blueberries, or the cranberries.  The preparation can be simplified by using a simpler stock for the sauce.

Venison Loin with wild berries


For the venison sauce, in a large saute pan, melt half the butter over medium heat. Add the venison bones, garlic bulb, celeriac, carrots, and bacon and saute until the bacon fat is rendered, about five minutes. Add the wine, Benedictine, blueberries, cranberries, chocolate, ginger, juniper berries, and caraway seeds. Adjust the heat to low and simmer until reduced by two-thirds, about three hours. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve, reserving the garlic bulb separately. Transfer the sauce to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the remaining butter, season and set aside keeping warm.

For the venison, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large roasting pan heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Season and sear the venison on all sides. Place in the oven and roast until desired doneness. Remove from the heat and set aside, keeping warm.

To serve, drizzle some venison sauce over the meat and garnish with garlic cloves, garlic peel, cloudberries, and sage. Accompany with cloudberry jam, elderberry jam, and buckthornberry jam.


For the venison sauce:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced and chilled
4 1/2 pound venison rack, bones removed and cut into 6 portions
1 bulb garlic
1 small celeriac, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 ounces diced bacon
4 cups red wine
1 ounce Benedictine [R] liquor
2 ounces blueberries
2 ounces cranberries
2 teaspoons chopped dark chocolate
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
3 juniper berries
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
Salt and pepper to taste