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Venison Medallions with Fresh Blackcurrant Sauce
I go hunting a lot.
There's something nice about the ritual of seeing an animal grow,
of hunting it and cooking it oneself. You know exactly what you're working with.
Venison is one of my favourite meats -- a full flavoured red meat but surprisingly lean and healthy.
This is venison dish is the perfect winter recipe.
1. If you are working with a whole piece of venison saddle, start by cutting it into 12 nice big chunks.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan.
3. When it's good and hot, add the venison pieces.
My tip is to think of the twelve pieces as the numbers on a clock face.
That's the easiest way to remember which one you put in the pan first.
Turn the pieces in the order in which you put them in.
That way, you'll get consistently cooked medallions.
I serve venison saddle pink so it's still incredibly tender.
Think of it like cooking a steak: if you like it medium rare, do it medium rare and so on.
Once the venison is cooked, pop it in a very low oven just to keep warm.
4. Pour off any fat in the pan.
Add the red wine, port, blackcurrant juice and crème de cassis.
Season with a few twists of black pepper.
5. Bring it to a rapid boil.
As it starts to reduce, you may add a little more wine, port or juice to taste.
The quantities in the recipe are only there as a guideline.
Cook until it reduces by about half and has thickened nicely.
6. Dissolve half a Knorr Chicken Stock Pot into the sauce. Taste it.
If you feel it needs the other half, then add it to the sauce as well.
7. Finish the sauce with a splash of cream, just to stabilise it.
You could also add a bit of vinegar to sharpen it if need be,
but blackcurrants can be quite acidic, so it may not be necessary.
Add the blackcurrants to the sauce to warm them through gently.
8. Place the venison pieces in a serving dish and pour over the red wine and fresh blackcurrant sauce.
9. This dish would go deliciously well with creamed cabbage and my simple swede purée.