Easy Venison Medallions (with creamy sauce)
Venison medallions are one of the best ways to cook venison tenderloin.
This recipe is simple and fast but looks and tastes like it came right from a Michelin-star restaurant.
Ingredients
With most of the prime cuts of venison, I like to keep things simple. I find that backstraps and tenderloins, although they don’t have much flavor, they adopt flavor very easily.
For this reason, this medallion recipe only uses a handful of ingredients.
I decided an easy pan sauce would be best to compliment these medallions.
Porcini mushrooms were a natural choice. The deep earthy flavors of the mushrooms complimented the rather mild venison well.
I used brandy to deglaze the pan which also brought another layer of flavor, and slight sweetness to balance the sweetness of the venison.
The mustard adds a little heat to the dish, but so little it’s barely noticeable and just a balancer.
The peppercorns I used are rosa but you can also use green. I prefer the rosa as they are slightly sweeter. Green are also fine, but black will be a little too strong.
Finally, the cream pulls the dish together.
Cooking
Although the dish may look and taste extravagant, there’s nothing complicated about it.
First, you need to cut your medallions, the hardest part is deciding on the thickness. I like to cut them about 1.5 – 2 inches thick.
Then put them on their ends, cover them with film, and flatten them out a little. If you have bigger tenderloins you can cut to one inch thick and skip this part.
Next, I press the peppercorns into the meat, this ensures they stay put and add flavor directly to the meat.
I harvest my porcinis in late summer and dry them. If you are using dry mushrooms, which I recommend you do, you will need to rehydrate them.
Place your pan over medium-high heat, you don’t want it too hot here or it will burn the butter. Once the butter starts getting hot add the medallions.
Cook for about 1.5 minutes per side, then remove and rest on a wooden board.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the brandy or stock to the pan and reduce, this should only take about 2-3 minutes.
Add the mustard and cream and stir.
Finally, return the medallions to the pan and cook until the sauce thickens.
You can also use 1 teaspoon of cornstarch slurry to make the sauce extra thick if you prefer.
Ingredients
- 1 Venison tenderloin
- Porcini musrooms
- 1 tbsp red or green peppercorns
- 1 cup cream
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 2 tbsp butter
- salt
- 1 tbsp mustard
Instructions
- Slice the tenderloin into medallions, about 1.5 -2 inches thick.
- Cover the medallions with some film and very gently pound to get a larger cooking surface (see notes)
- Sprinkle some peppercorns on the medallions and firmly push into the meat. Sprinkle some salt over the medallions.
- Heat a pan over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter gets hot add the medallions. Cook for about 1.5 minutes per side depending on the size of your tenderloin.
- Remove the medallions from the pan and add the porcini mushrooms. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Pour over the brandy and cook until reduced by half. (about 2 minutes)
- Add the mustard and stir
- Add the cream and stir
- Return the medallions to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes until the sauce thickens (see notes)
Notes
- If you are in a hurry or want the sauce to be extra thick you can use half a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Add half a tablespoon of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry. Stir this into your sauce and cook for 2-4 minutes.
