Recipe: Backstrap and Tortellini

SERVES 2-4 | PREP 20 MIN | COOK 20 MIN

When I look for quick meals to put together, I always look at a steak in the freezer. Mind you, this could be made with backstrap as easily as a tenderloin or bottom round. The steak part is straightforward, with just salt, pepper, onion powder, and cook to medium-rare. Remember, if you cook it to medium-well, the buck you shot will haunt you in your dreams until you cook another steak to medium-rare. I don’t make the rules, that’s just how it is.

Typically, I’ll get my pasta water boiling and then cook my steak. While it’s resting, I’ll get everything else rolling. This recipe: backstrap and tortellini, works best with fresh tortellini, but if dried is what you find, that also works. I just like the tenderness of the fresh ones. Plus, they boil in about 2 minutes.

One of my favorite mushrooms to use these days is the King trumpet. However, wild foraged oysters are a great sub for this one. Or, if you’re foraging in the produce section, use a sliced portabella. Regardless, you want a large mushroom that can be sliced somewhat thick and browns up nicely in sage butter.

For this recipe, fresh sage (maybe rosemary) is non-negotiable, as it’s a feature in the sauce. You’ll fry these fresh herbs in a ton of butter until crisp and remove them to chill. They’ll crumble up on the plate extremely well. Season the whole dish to make it look nice.

When you crisp up the mushrooms in this butter, you want space. (No mushrooms touching, if at all possible.) This keeps them from steaming. So, if two rounds of cooking are needed, do two rounds.

Once the mushrooms are done, pull them out and brown the cooked pasta. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water. Pull it out once one side is a little crispy from the pan.

Lastly, toss in chopped garlic, fresh tomatoes, and some pasta water to make a lightly cooked sauce that finishes with some big, flaky sea salt. All the pasta goes back in the sauce, so it’s nicely covered.

Plate on one side of the dish, garnished with fresh basil and fresh-grated parmesan, and sliced steak on the other side. In the photos, you’ll see very light parmesan, but we decided to let it rip later, and it really took things up a notch. Of course, all of this is to taste, and using what you have around.

Note: I want to stress one more thing. Salt your pasta water. It should taste like the ocean, which makes the pasta actually taste like something. If there’s a scale from “I’m on heart medication” as a 1 to “I’m eating a salt lick, someone shoot me now” as a 10, it should be an 8-9. To start, think around ¼ cup in a large pot of water to start. This dish depends on great meat cooked to a proper temp and super fresh tomatoes for the sauce. Plus, these days, it seems like cherry tomatoes are very reliable to get actual tomato flavors nearly year round. It’s not quite like the garden in December, but it’s close.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

• 1 pack of fresh tortellini
• 12 oz of large mushrooms (preferably king trumpet)
• 12-20 oz of venison steak
• 12-16 oz of cherry tomatoes
• ½ stick of butter
• Parmesan to grate (or pre-grated)
• Fresh sage, basil, and rosemary
• Kosher salt
• Flaked sea salt to finish (if you have it)
• Olive oil
• Onion powder
• Black pepper

DETAILED RECIPE STEPS

1. Get a pan of boiling salted water rolling while you prep other ingredients.
2. Salt and season steak with black pepper and onion powder.
3. Chop all your vegetables and herbs.
4. Cook steak on medium-high heat on both sides until medium rare (probably around 8-10 minutes) depending on thickness.
5. Set steak aside to rest (uncovered).
6. Toss pasta in water and cook to al dente (just tender), according to packaging. Let drain in strainer, keeping ¼ cup pasta water for your sauce.
7. Melt butter in your pan. Crisp up the fresh rosemary and sage.
8. Remove herbs and put in sliced mushrooms. Salt well and brown.
9. Remove mushrooms, add oil as needed, and sauté halved cherry tomatoes.
10. Add pasta and cook on one side until just crispy.
11. Add ¼ cup pasta water and stir until a light sauce forms.
12. Plate pasta, slice steak, and add to other side of the plate.
13. Put fresh basil and fresh parmesan on pepper to taste (and flaked sea salt on the steak) and enjoy!

If you’re super quick in the kitchen, this could easily be a 15-minute meal. Now, it’s time to feast! Let’s eat some wild game grub!

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