Venison Steaks Au Pouvier
by Larry Copenhaver
 

Here’s another quick steak recipe that includes a sauce. Venison, whether antelope, deer or elk, is very savory and lends itself well to sauces of all kinds. Steak Au Pouvier can be made with tenderloins or round steak cuts, but use thicker cuts if available. This recipe calls for cracked black pepper that can be bought in that state, found in the spice aisle but can also be accomplished by pounding whole black peppercorns with a pallet inside a Ziploc baggie. You will want the final product to be cracked not ground, nor whole. Everyone seems to have a spare electronic coffee grinder lying around, a remnant of Christmas or housewarming parties; these work very well for the purpose, but be careful not to over grind. Enjoy.

- Larry Copenhaver

   

INGREDIENTS

  • Venison steaks (Round, Tenderloin)
  • ¼ C+ cracked black pepper
  • 3 TBS butter
  • 2 TBS Dijon mustard
  • 2 TBS stone-ground mustard
  • ¼ tsp crushed rosemary
  • ¼ tsp ground sage
  • 1/3 C brandy
  • 1 C heavy cream
   

PREPARATIONS

  • Prepare cracked black peppercorns by crushing whole peppercorns or bought cracked peppercorns.
  • Spread on aluminum foil and dredge steaks through the cracked pepper, covering all sides [pepper can be pretty liberally applied, but shouldn’t totally encrust the meat].
  • Melt butter in a sauté pan on medium high heat [use your hood fan, the pepper vapors are very pungent; open windows, as well].
  • Sear steaks in hot butter, cook until medium rare, remove from pan, set aside.
  • Add rosemary and sage to hot butter
  • Deglaze with brandy, allow brandy to reduce to 1/3 volume.
  • Blend in both Dijon and stone-ground mustards, mix well, allow to heat, and stir until it begins to brown.
  • Add heavy cream, blend all, bring to low boil, lower heat to medium low. Reduce until sauce thickens, approximately half volume, whisking often; take caution not to reduce too far as it will clump and separate.
  • Return meat to pan and turn to coat with sauce. If you prefer a more done steak, cook in sauce until desired doneness is reached; this process doesn’t take very long in the sauce.

    Serve with side-vegetable baby peas and sautéed mushrooms, with cooked angel-hair pasta, seasoned with garlic and Parmesan for a starch.
   
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