Rustic Venison Jägerschnitzel Recipe
Who doesn’t love a tender piece of meat, breaded and fried and smothered in mushroom sauce?? Today we’re making my version of an absolute classic in German cuisine. Jägerschnitzel is, simply put, schnitzel with mushroom sauce. But this is no ordinary mushroom sauce, and this is no ordinary schnitzel! We’re making this dish from a couple backstrap steaks that came from a whitetail deer harvested in Northern Michigan, and processed by me. If you like venison, fried meat, mushrooms – or any combination therein, you’re going to love my venison bakcstrap Jägerschnitzel!
Rustic Venison Jägerschnitzel Recipe
4
servings20
minutes40
minutes1
hourIngredients
- Mushroom Sauce
1 lb white mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup white or yellow onion, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 Tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups beef broth
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- Venison Schnitzel
4 venison backstrap steaks (4-5 inches long)
Salt and pepper
Flour
Bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil
Fresh parsley
Directions
- Mushroom Sauce
- In a large saucepan, skillet, or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat.
- Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms have fully cooked down (about 10 minutes).
- Stir in salt, pepper, and dry thyme.
- Sprinkle in the flour, and stir until well incorporated. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste.
- Deglaze with white wine, scraping any brown bits off the bottom and sides of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- Simmer until practically all the wine is reduced and cooked-off.
- Stir in the beef broth. Bring to a low simmer, and continue to simmer until sauce has thickened (20-30 minutes).
- Stir in heavy cream.
- Schnitzel
- Take venison steaks out of the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before cooking. Otherwise, the insides will be too cold when it’s time to fry them.
- Pound steaks with a meat tenderizer until quite thin; around 1/4 of an inch.
- Season steaks with salt and pepper.
- Lightly coat each piece of meat in flour. Then coat in beaten egg, allowing excess egg to drip off. Then dredge in bread crumbs, taking care to fully coat every part of the meat.
- Heat cooking oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit in large cast iron skillet or a Dutch oven. You only need enough oil to come about halfway up the thickness of the breaded meat.
- Carefully place the meat in the hot oil, taking care not to over-crowd the pan. Do it in batches, if needed. After 3-4 minutes, turn the meat and cook the other side until the internal temperature is 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove meat from pan and rest for 5 minutes. To serve, smother the breaded meat with mushroom sauce and garnish with parsley.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Unlike pork, it is OK to eat venison that is cooked less than well-done, though a cheap digital food thermometer will ensure you get the ideal temperature for tender and flavorful meat.
