If you are one of the lucky people who found a whole bunch of morel mushrooms this year, then this recipe from honest-food.net is for you! If you want to try something different with your morels and still use venison, then try this, and your taste buds will love you for it:
Venison with Morel Mushroom Sauce Recipe
Serves 4.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
WHAT YOU NEED:
- 1 1/2 pounds venison medallions, cut 3/4 to 1 inch thick, or the tenderloins from a large deer
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or canola oil
MOREL SAUCE
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1/4 cup dried morels, soaked in water for several hours – or about 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh morels
- 1 cup venison or beef stock or 1/4 cup veal demi-glace
- 1/2 cup Port wine (something you would drink)
- Salt to taste
(photo by Holly A. Heyser)
DIRECTIONS:
- In a small saucepan, reduce the stock and the water you soaked the morels in over high heat until you are left with about 1/2 cup of liquid. Turn off the heat and set aside. Obviously skip this step if using fresh morels, and do not include the demi-glace if using.
- Take the venison out of the fridge and salt it liberally. Let it rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
- Heat a pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium-high and place the fresh morels down on the pan to heat. They will release their water quickly. Let this simmer until the water is almost all gone, then add 3 tablespoons of butter and shallot. saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Remove and set aside. If you are using dried morels, you do not need to dry-cook them first.
- Either wipe the pan down or use another one. Heat it over high heat for a minute or two and add the grapeseed oil. Heat this for 1 minute. Pat the venison dry with a paper towel and place it in the pan. Sear it for 3-4 minutes on one side, then flip. Let it cook through to your taste on the other side without flipping again. Look for about another 1-3 minutes, but I use the finger test for doneness. Remove meat from pan and set aside under foil to rest.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and let it melt over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine to make a roux. Cook this for 2 minutes. Add the port wine and stir to combine. It will thicken immediately, and if it turns to a paste add the morel water-stock mix you reduced in step one. If it does not turn into a paste, let the port boil a minute, then add the stock or demi-glace. Add the morels. Once the morels are heated through, lay down a pool of the sauce on the plates, then top with venison. Arrange the rehydrated morels around the meat, and top each steak with a half of a fresh morel. Grind black pepper over all and serve at once.