I often make traditional beef Wellington, but it works equally well with richer game meats such as deer or elk. However, you have to use a tenderloin that is trimmed of all sinew and fat.
You can serve the Wellington whole. It’s the easiest and best way to serve it because the inner part of the meat stays moist and red. To complete the meal, all that is needed is a vegetable such as winter squash and some creamy, garlic-y mashed potatoes to soak up some of the extra sauce.
Venison Wellington
2 to 4 sheets of puff pastry (enough to enclose the entire filet)
1 large egg
1 pound venison or elk tenderloin, thoroughly cleaned
4 thin slices ham or prosciutto
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup fresh cranberries
3 tablespoons heavy cream
½ cup beef stock (or broth)
¼ cup red wine or port
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 squares bitter chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
ground chipotle chile, to taste
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Gently rub the meat with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet, add the meat and turn it until it’s barely browned all over. Set the meat aside to cool.
Place cranberries, sugar and heavy cream in a small saucepan and boil until the mixture is thick. (You can use dried cranberries, but omit the sugar.) Strain the fruit and set the juices aside.
Place wine, crushed garlic and chopped shallot in a pan and reduce until almost dry. Add the beef stock, bring to a boil, and then set aside.
Whisk the egg in a small bowl to make egg wash. Patch the pastry sheets together using the egg wash. Place pastry on a flat board. Lay pieces of the prosciutto on the pastry, then a thin layer of the strained cranberries. Smear Dijon on one side of the filet, and place it mustard side down on top of the cranberries. Paint egg wash around the edges of the pastry, wrap the pastry around the mixture and seal the parcel. Reserve some egg wash and pastry scraps to use later.
Turn the parcel over so that the smooth side is up. Place it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes so that everything cools. (Up to this point, everything can be made the day before.)
Retrieve the Wellington and paint the top of it with egg wash and decorate it with pastry scraps. Cut two vents in the pastry to allow the steam escape while its cooking. Place it on a baking sheet in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove it from the oven and keep it warm while you finish the sauce.
Put the reserved cranberry juices and any left over cranberries, chile, chocolate, reserved wine, garlic and beef stock sauce and butter to a sauce pan. Heat gently and stir until the sauce is thick and velvety. Ladle a pool of the sauce onto a plate, then gently place the Wellington on top of the sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable. Makes four servings.
Susan Havers is the owner/chef of the historic Elk Mountain Hotel in Elk Mountain, Wyoming.