Venison fillet with creamy whisky sauce

A tasty sauce can make a fine steak spectacular. There is no better starting point than steaks cut from the aged rib fillets of yearling venison. During the week we simply grill such steaks and consume them with steamed vegetables. Friday nights, however, we go to a bit more effort and it is always worthwhile and a memorable meal.

Duration: 45 minutes
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• Venison rib fillet steaks, 2.5cm thick
• 30g + 60g butter
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon flour
• 1 teaspoon French mustard
• ¼ cup cream
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 beef stock cube, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon whisky
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Thick slices of Turkish or home-baked bread cut to size of steaks.

Method

1. Heat 30g butter in pan, add French mustard and blend well.
2. Brush both sides of the bread with the butter.
3. Place bread on oven tray in moderate oven.
4. Bake until golden brown (maybe 20 minutes depending on oven).
5. In a hot pan, add the 60g of butter and sear steaks to your liking (but don’t overcook venison). Remove steaks from pan and keep warm.
6. Drain excess juices from pan, leaving about a tablespoon.
7. At reduced heat, add flour and shallot. Stir briefly then add water.
8. Stir until sauce combines and begins to boil.
9. Add cream, parsley, crumbled stock cube, whisky and lemon juice.
10. Reduce heat, stir for 2 minutes.
11. Place steak on baked bread.
12. Pour sauce over the steak.
13. Serve with vegetables of your choice.