Recipe: Bone-in Venison Loin with Morel Sauce

SERVES: 2 | PREP TIME: 15 MIN | COOK TIME: 1 HOUR

When a French chef tells you where to eat in Paris, it’s always good to take notes. This past fall, I ate at a somewhat hidden bistro. It led to this recipe: bone-in venison loin with morel sauce.

At that bistro, the tables were so close you had to pull yours out to get to the other side. The bartender was an open book, suggesting wine and feeding me an incredible bit of cheese while we waited for a table. I saw they had a veal T-bone with morel sauce and knew no matter what else I did, it needed to be a part of my meal. It didn’t disappoint, and that sauce deeply impressed me.

After talking to the chef about his process, I learned it was similar to what I like to do with dried morels. Still, it leans heavily on French butter and is finished with cream.

I made my wild rendition in the mountains of New Mexico by a trout stream. Life has been challenging lately for my lady, so I figured a great meal by a mountain could be a way to heal and be reminded of some cherished memories. I had a portion of backstrap that I’d butchered with the rib bones intact. To keep the bone ends from piercing the vac seal bag, I’d wrapped the ends with a small piece of silver-skin, and it’s been the most effective method I’ve used yet to maintain a good seal all year.

Recipe: Wild Game Pastrami

You’ll want to use dried morel mushrooms for this sauce (click here for tips on drying morels). Soak the mushrooms in hot water; I also tossed in some garlic and fresh thyme to infuse the liquid with extra flavor. Later on, that soaking water will have morel and herb flavors, and that’s the backbone of the sauce. So, remember to keep it. If you haven’t foraged morels, you can substitute with your favorite store-bought dried mushrooms.

Once the mushrooms soak for 20 minutes, I sauté them in copious amounts of French, high-fat butter. If you have a good local source, that works, too. Get the mushrooms crunchy, and then swap in the solidly salted loin, pull the mushrooms, and crisp the meat on all sides until it’s 125-135 degrees.

While the meat rests, make a roux with some flour, pour in your mushroom soaking liquid, and reduce about half or until thick. Taste it and add salt as needed. Add the cream once the sauce isn’t simmering (just at the end for flavor and thickness). Serve the backstrap sliced and in the sauce. Finish with fresh thyme.

We ate the meat right off the bone, soaking up extra sauce with some dense bread to leave no trace of deliciousness in the pan. It’s a simple meal that works great in camp. And it’s an excellent excuse to forage every spring.

Recipe: Venison Meatball and Spaghetti

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound backstrap (bone-in or 4-6 ribs worth)
• 8-16 dried morel mushrooms (substitute with other dried mushrooms if necessary)
• ¼ cup high-fat butter
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon flour
• Bunch fresh thyme

DETAILED STEPS

1. Boil water and turn off heat.
2. Add dried morels, half your thyme and all the garlic, and let sit to steep 20 minutes.
3. Salt the meat liberally.
4. Melt the butter in a pan.
5. Pull mushrooms out of liquid and squeeze out remaining water.
6. Sauté mushrooms in butter until golden with a pinch of salt.
7. Add garlic and cook until soft.
8. Pull mushrooms out of butter.
9. Crisp loins on all sides until medium rare (125-130 degrees Fahrenheit). Let rest.
10. Add flour to butter and stir, slowly adding mushroom liquid to make a sauce. Reduce by half.
11. Add back in morels and garlic pieces, plus heavy cream.
12. Slice medallions of backstrap and put in simmer sauce for presentation. Sprinkle with fresh thyme.

Recipe: Venison Shank Garbanzo Stew

MORE FIELD NOTES