Gourmet Venison Carpaccio and Truffle Pizza

I spent a lot of time thinking about what venison pizza to make. Many ideas crossed my mind, such as venison sausage pizza, or meatball, pizza.
I think sausage pizza would be great, but it’s really two recipes. The meatball pizza I already made for wild boar, and it wouldn’t showcase the ability of venison the way I wanted it.
After a lot of thought, I landed on carpaccio pizza. As soon as I thought of carpaccio pizza, I knew exactly what to pair it with, and here we have the world’s simplest gourmet pizza.
The Carpaccio

There are two venison cuts suitable for making carpaccio: the tenderloin and the backstrap. I prefer to use tenderloin for carpaccio and tartare.
The backstrap is good but not as tender as the tenderloin, and for carpaccio, you really want that melt-in-the-mouth texture. The backstrap would also yield much larger slices.
Hopefully, you know exactly how your venison has been handled from the kill to the freezer. You really need to ensure the meat was handled with care and not exposed to the elements for too long.
Ideally, the venison should be deep-frozen for around three days. These are all just precautions, but ones I recommend you take.
You need a meat slicer or an extremely sharp knife to slice the carpaccio. I like to be hands-on, so I used the knife; it was still difficult to get clean cuts with my high-end Japanese gyuto.
To make cutting the carpaccio easier, freeze it for one hour before you slice; this will stiffen the meat.
The Toppings

I remember visiting Italy many years ago and being blown away by the pizzas, but the ones I remember the most are the ones without any sauce.
I like a simple pizza where each ingredient has a star role.
For this pizza it was very easy for me to choose the toppings. The truffle pairs so well with the venison, and it’s hard to know which ingredient is the main, it’s like they are elevating each other.
I also like that the truffle is another wild ingredient.
As you can imagine the dish would be very dry without a sauce, this is where the cheese comes in. The buffalo mozzarella is very creamy, almost acting as the sauce. Normal mozzarella can be used but it’s not as creamy as buffalo mozarella.
To finish the dish we need some fresh ingredients, and arugula fits in well here. It has a very distinct profile just like every other ingredient on this pizza.
Cooking the Pizza

The pizza is dressed with some truffle oil, the buffalo mozzarella, and truffle carpaccio, not the venison carpaccio, before going in the oven.
If you have a pizza oven get it to about 500f. I have tested this dough in a standard home oven also, and it works well.
Get your home oven as hot as you can with the fan off. It takes about 3-5 minutes in the pizza oven and 10-15 minutes in a home oven.
After the pizza comes out of the oven, dress it with the venison carpaccio, arugula, and parmesan. Also, drizzle over a little more truffle oil.
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Venison Carpaccio Pizza
Ingredients
pizza dough
- 2 cups type 00 flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
toppings
- 1 venison tenderloin
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 buffalo mozarella
- 1 whole summer truffle
- 1 tablespoon truffle oil
- 1/2 cup arugula
Instructions
- Add the yeast, olive oil, and sugar in a small bowl and cover with the warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes
- In a large bowl sieve the type 00 flour, all-purpose flour. Add salt and mix.
- Pour the yeast mixture over the flour and mix well using a wooden spoon or your hands. Allow to rest for 15 minutes
- Knead the mixture on a well floured surface until smooth. (approx 3 minutes). Cover with cling film or damp towel and leave in a warm place to rise.
- Place the tenderloin in the freezer 1-2 hours before cooking pizza
- Get your oven to 450-500 F.
- Using a very sharp knife slice the tenderloin very thin
- Slice the truffle the same as the tenderloin
- Carefully remove pizza dough and place on a well floured surface. Upside stays up. Use your fingers to create the crust by pushing on the edge. Work the dough out with your hands to form the pizza base.
- Drizzle over the truffle oil. Tear chunks of buffalo mozzarella and evenly space on the pizza base. Place the truffle shavings evenly around the base.
- Slide the pizza into the oven and cook for approx 3-5 minutes, then turn and cook the same on the other side.
- When the base is cooked remove the pizza. Carefully place the venison carpaccio around the base.
- Shave over some parmesan cheese and garnish with arugula. Drizzle over a little extra truffle oil to serve.