Cooking Deer with Vapor

This gourmet recipe by Chef Johann Lafer is quite complex and different elements are arranged to create a beautiful plate. The deer filets are steamed in a flavorful broth of lemon verbana, spices, and other herbs including shallots, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, allspice, chili pepper, coriander, white wine, bouillon, salt, and pepper.

The delicious deer fillets are accompanied with a side dish of crepes filled with blueberries and glazed chestnuts. The dish is also garnished with buttered vegetables including broccoli, asparagus, and carrots. The dish is made even more luscious and flavorful with a sauce made of game fond and reduced red wine. Finally, the dish is garnished with fresh parsley creating a delightfully vibrant, colorful and fragrant dish.

Make the sauce ahead of time because the longer it sits, the better the flavor. It also takes some time to reduce the red wine and make the game fond. Before steaming the deer steaks, sear them on both sides in a hot skillet so that they stay moist and juicy and their flavors are sealed in.

Ingredients

1 3/4 lbs. prepared deer (venison) fillet
1 ½ tablespoons ginger
5 Indian verbena leaves
3 shallots
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons sesame oil
allspice
chili pepper
1 bouquet coriander
white wine
2 tablespoons bouillon
salt, pepper
1/2 lb. chestnuts
3 1/2 tablespoons cane sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 crepes
¼ lb. blueberries
1 spoon cornstarch
1 ½ tablespoons butter
carrots (with their greens attached)
4 small broccoli bouquets
4 asparagus spears
¾ cups of game fond and reduced red wine

1. Sauté chopped garlic till it turns brown.

2. In a pressure cooker, add the chopped ginger, verbena, shallots, and sautéed garlic. Add a pinch of chili pepper, some peppercorn, coriander leaves, white wine, and a splash of broth. Cover and cook slowly.

3. Season the venison steak with salt and pepper. Fry briefly in sesame oil on a high flame. Place it in a colander then let it steam over the Indian verbena broth.

4. On a wide saucepan, heat some brown sugar. Add the peeled chestnuts. Moisten with maple syrup. Stir a little then wait until the chestnuts are cooked and the mixture has become a thick syrup.

5. Stuff crepes with blueberries, thickened with some corn flour. Fold the crepes into quarters. Fry in hot butter.

6. When the venison is cooked, cut it up into chunks. Line them up on a serving plate. Add a stuffed crepe, and some chestnuts. Garnish with a carrot, and a little broccoli that has been blanched and heated with some butter. Pour over wild game sauce that’s been made with a lot of red wine over the dish. Garnish with parsley.