Mushrooms and Marsala Wine with Venison Medallions

Although this dish feels like fall and winter, I have a cache of venison in my freezer, dark Baby Bella mushrooms that need using, and copious amounts of garden vegetable that will be a snap to roast and steam, as I sear the venison and prepare a rich sauce to put around them.

In thinking about this meal, it occurs to me that much of the main ingredients come from our garden and from SB's passion for the hunt. Is this where I let out that primal scream that announces our sure ability to survive longer than the regular schmoe, should the apocalypse happen?  I'm not that smug, but it sure is satisfying to know that when I look at tonight's plate I can be a happy backyard gardener and look across the table at the hunting hick !

Inch thick blade steaks - trim the sides of the silver skin, but leave the center strip of fat)

Now, here's a good way to make venison ... pound out a couple steaks  (these are blade steaks, but tenderloins or chops work also!) and cut them into burger-sized medallions. Heat a grill pan until it's searing hot. Toss a pat of butter on the pan and push it around to grease the ways. Plop on the medallions and set the timer for one minute. Flip them and set the timer for another minute. Remove them to a platter and cover loosely for a couple minutes while you finish whatever sauce you've started making. Drizzle some of the sauce over top and serve them immediately.

That's it!

Pounded to about 1/3 inch thickness, sprinkled with salt, pepper, steak spice and drizzled with just a bit of olive oil

Sautéed in a bit of butter until browned and beginning to crisp at the edges, soaked in some Marsala wine and set aside to soak up the flavors... finished with cream and butter just before serving

Now, about this sauce ... it's Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced thickly (because we like a bit of chew to our food), a couple tablespoons of butter, a couple sprigs of thyme with the leaves stripped off, some salt and pepper, a couple tablespoons of Marsala wine, and some light cream and butter pats to finish the sauce.

That's it!

Pour the wine and enjoy. 

If venison is not your thing, you could do this meal with beef tenderloin and it would be pretty darn good. Go for it !

A Note About Venison ...

The big thing with venison is to have really simple side dishes (or sides that you can fuss over earlier in the dinner prep process.). In our case, we have new potatoes and rosemary for roasting and fresh green beans for the steaming. I know that I've ranted on this in earlier venison posts, but it's really important. there's nothing worse than overdone venison ... think shoe leather. It must be cooked medium rare to rare in order to maintain its moisture and tenderness. Venison is so very lean that it dries out fast and then it's useless ... make it into Slim Jims or something equally gross.

So ... keep it rare. Simple as that ...