Incredible Venison Wellington Recipe with Sauce

Directions

• Venison Wellington
• Make sure backstrap is trimmed of fat and silver skin. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Using butcher’s twine, tie the backstrap so it becomes a bit more cylindrical (rather than somewhat flat).
• Season generously with Kosher salt and black pepper.
• Heat olive oil in large skillet. Sear all sides of backstrap, forming a nice brown crust on each side.
• Remove from heat. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
• Lay out 2 sheets of plastic wrap, slightly overlapping. Place down the prosciutto slices, taking care to overlap each slice by about one-half. The objective is to create a larger square of prosciutto by “shingling” the slices together.
• Carefully spread duxelles across the prosciutto, taking care to distribute it evenly. I find using my fingers much easier than a utensil to spread this thick mixture.
• Remove venison from refrigerator. Remove and discard butcher’s twine. Brush a coating of Dijon mustard on all sides of the backstrap.
• Set backstrap atop the duxelles/prosciutto layer, near one edge. Using the plastic wrap to assist, carefully roll the meat up in the duxelles/proscuitto layer. Roll and seal tightly in plastic wrap, making sure to twist the ends of the plastic wrap into a snug “log”.
• Refrigerate the wrapped log for another 20-30 minutes.
• On a floured surface, prepare the puff pastry by rolling int out until it is longer and slightly wider than needed to fully encase the log.
• Unwrap the log and set on puff pastry near one edge. Start tightly rolling the puff pastry around the log, and trim the excess dough so it is just long enough to wrap all the way around. Brush some egg wash near the seam to “glue” the seam together. Carefully pinch the seam together, forming a good seal.
• Trim the sides of the pastry, and seal the ends by twisting, pinching, and tucking.
• Set the entire thing on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the top and all sides with egg wash.
• Using a knife, make shallow slits in whatever decorative pattern you like in the top of the pastry. Sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt.
• Bake in oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit until the internal temperature of the venison is 130 degrees Fahrenheit. I recommend using a probe thermometer so you can monitor the temperature in real-time. It should take about 40 minutes.
• Remove Wellington from oven and set on wire cooling rack. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
• Cut the Wellington into thick slices and serve. Drizzle some sauce over top, and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
• Duxelles
• Put mushrooms, shallot, and garlic in food processor. Pulse until it is all a finely-minced texture. Don’t over-process, or you will end up with paste. Alternatively, you can finely mince these ingredients by hand.
• Melt butter in large skillet (you can use the same skillet the venison was browned in).
• Add the mixture of mushroom, shallot, and garlic. Season with a pinch of Kosher salt and black pepper.
• Saute the mixture over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until almost all moisture is cooked off.
• Deglaze with cooking Sherry. Add thyme sprigs. Continue simmering until practically all of the sherry is cooked off.
• Remove and discard thyme sprigs. Remove duxelles from pan and set aside until ready for them.
• Sauce
• Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic, and season with a pinch of Kosher salt and black pepper.
• Saute for about a minute. Take care not to burn the sharllot or garlic.
• Deglaze with cooking sherry. Simmer on medium heat until most of the sherry is cooked off.
• Stir in tomato paste and soy sauce. Stir in beef stock.
• Simmer on low heat until sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Strain the sauce mixture through a fine mesh strainer, keeping the liquid and discarding the solids.
• Put the liquid into a small saucepan over very low heat. Stir in two 1/2 Tablespoon pads of butter.
• Keep sauce warm over very low heat until ready for it.
• If sauce seems too thin, you can thicken it with a slurry. Mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 teaspoon of cold water, and stir that mixture into the sauce. I don’t recommend using more slurry than this, or the sauce may become much too thick.