Venison & beetroot dish

We're going to make a seared venison dish with a hazelnut crust, a beetroot flower, my favorite beetroot cream, white truffle and a beautiful venison & gingerbread sauce.

How to clean the venison

I already cleaned one side, but we’ll do the other side together. Take a sharp boning knife and cut along the bones all the way down to the spine and the ribs. Gently press the meat of the bones to be sure you don’t waste any meat. Then turn the venison around and carefully cut the joins of the bones. Venison joins are pretty small, so I always keep them for a mousse or pate. I’m not using them in this dish, but you could pan fry them. Keep the bones in your fridge to make the sauce. Then use the knife to cut away the membranes. Make sure to keep pressure on the membrane while cutting it so you don’t waste any meat. Now portion it to the desired size and keep it covered in your fridge for later.

The venison & gingerbread sauce

1	venison bones / carcass
2	onions
1	leek
1	carrot
250 grams	mushrooms
300 grams	white wine
3 sprigs	thyme
4 cloves	garlic
300 grams	cream
	gingerbread

Chop the venison bones in smaller pieces and place them on an oven tray. Now toast them at 200 degrees Celsius for around 40 minutes till golden brown. Meanwhile cut the onions in half and clean them. Now chop them. Then cut the leek all the way down to the middle and wash it well. Now cut the top half in thin rings and do the same with the carrot. Then drizzle some oil in a frying pan and pan fry the cut vegetables with the mushrooms. You can use any mushrooms you like. Once golden deglaze the pan with the white wine and also add the thyme and the garlic. Reduce it till almost all the wine has evaporated. After add the bones and deglaze the tray with some water. Let this soak in the oven for a minute or 5. Now transfer the bones and vegetables into a big pot and add the soak tray liquid, the cream and enough water to submerge the bones. Bring this to a boil and then let it simmer on the lowest heat for at least 6 hours. After that add some slices of gingerbread to give a nice flavor and to thicken the sauce. Then drain the sauce on a fine sieve and let it drip for at least 30 minutes so you don’t waste a single drop. Now when necessary let the sauce reduce and season it with salt. Once that’s done pass the sauce through a fine sauce sieve and tap the side so it passes through leaving the solids in the sieve.

The black mushroom powder

200 grams	mushrooms
15 grams	squid ink

Spread the mushrooms on a silicon sheet and divide the squid ink on there as well. Now let this completely dry at 60 degrees Celsius for around 4 to 5 hours. Once dry transfer it into a blender and blend it till it’s a fine powder. Keep it dry and covered for later.

The beetroot rose

4 even sized	beetroots
	olive oil
	salt

Place the beetroots on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle some olive oil on top. Now season with salt and then wrap the beets as tight as possible. Then bake them at 180 degrees Celsius for around 70 minutes. Once they’re cooked take them out of the oven and let them cool down for 5 minutes. Then remove the peel. This is best done when still hot. Now let them cool down in your fridge. After that slice them in thin slices on a mandolin. The slices need to be around 3 to 4 millimeters thin. Then stack the slices and cut them with a small round cutter. Keep the trimmings for later to make the cream. Now once you’ve done that place the beetroot rounds overlapping on a piece of foil. When no more rounds fit start rolling them up and continue laying and rolling till you’re happy with the size. Then cover it completely and portion the rose in half. Be very gently! Now remove the foil and cut the rose once more in half. Again be very gentle so you don’t waste all the hard word you just did. Each whole unportioned rose is enough for 4 dishes.

The beetroot cream

1	shallot
50 grams	butter
40 grams	sugar
3 grams	salt
500 grams	cooked beetroot trimmings
2 sprigs	thyme
200 grams	vegetable broth
20 grams	white wine vinegar
	Xanthan gum

Cut the shallot in half and clean it. Now chop it. Then melt the butter in a frying pan and also add the sugar and the salt. Let this caramelize for 2 minutes before adding the shallots and caramelizing those till a light golden color starts to form. Now add the beetroot trimmings with the thyme and pan fry it for 5 minutes. Then deglaze the pan with the vegetable broth and the white wine vinegar and let this reduce almost all the way. After that remove the sprigs of thyme and transfer it into a blender. Blend it till smooth. Then add a knife tip of Xanthan gum and blend it for another minute. The Xanthan gum will prevent the cream from leaking any liquid once plated.

The hazelnut crust

150 grams	hazelnuts
40 grams	butter
20 grams	breadcrumbs
3 grams	salt

Place the hazelnuts on a tray and toast them at 150 degrees Celsius for around 15 to 20 minutes. Now place a kitchen towel on top and give it a good mix to remove the dark skins. Then transfer them on a rack to separate the skins. Now measure 75 grams in a blender and blend it till it’s a fine powder. Then add the butter with the breadcrumbs and the salt. Blend it for another 15 seconds. Now transfer it on a piece of thick foil and place another piece of foil on top. Then spread it using a rolling pin. After that remove the top foil. Now take the remaining toasted hazelnuts and chop them into a fine crumble. Spread the crumble on the crust and make sure everything is covered. Then let it set in your freezer.

Final prep

Cut some chives fine and keep it covered in your fridge for later. Now do the same with some white truffle. The truffle is optional, but it’s so good!

How to finish the dish

First cover the bottle of beetroot cream with some foil and heat it up at 60 degrees Celsius. Do the same with the beetroot roses and make sure they are properly covered so they don’t dry out. Then take the venison and cover it all around with the mushroom powder. Don’t worry about seasoning. The powder is very salty. Now add a drizzle of oil in a hot frying pan and sear the venison for a couple of seconds on all sides. Do this as fast as possible. Then place them on a tray and cook them at 110 degrees Celsius for around 10 minutes. Once cooked take them out of the oven and cut the hazelnut crust to the desired size. It should be a bit bigger then the venison. Lay it on top and then let the rest for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile place the hot beetroot rose on one side of a plate and pipe some of the hot cream on top. Now cover it completely with the white truffle. Then sprinkle some chives on the venison and portion it to the desired size. Now place it on the other side of the plate and decorate the top with some white leek flowers. Then serve it as soon as possible because venison dries out very fast. Don’t forget that delicious venison & gingerbread sauce!