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Perfect Date Night Dinner – Venison Medallions with Red Wine.
It’s nearly Valentine’s Day and, although I’m not planning a romantic Dinner à Deux this year, I’m happy to share some of my favourite recipes for date night. If you are planning a cosy night in with someone special, on Valentine’s Day or any other day of the year. Venison Loin Medallions are perfect for a special dinner, though if you prefer you can use fillet steak instead of venison. A red wine sauce made with a reduction pimped up with berries is an excellent accompaniment. And, at this time of the year, Cavola Nero is the perfect vegetable to complement this luxurious game recipe.
Shopping List for Venison Medallions with red wine and berry sauce to serve two people
- Four venison medallions (or two beef fillet steaks) weighing around 350g – 400g total
- 1 handful of fresh thyme or rosemary
- 1 banana shallot
- 1 cup of red wine
- 1 cup of chicken or beef stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 50g butter
- 1 small head of cavolo nero
- 5-6 juniper berries
- Salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoons of your choice of red berry preserve.
This recipe is very easy – especially if you are lucky enough to have a favourite pan to cook your venison. I’ve just been sent a stunning new pan from Samuel Groves which is absolutely perfect for the job. It’s about two-thirds of the weight of a traditional cast iron pan, so my old skillet has now been relegated to making gratin dishes. Of course, if you are cooking for a romantic date evening, using a pan which is every bit as elegant as you is a good idea. And one that doesn’t make you break out into a sweat when you lift it isn’t a bad idea either.
Venison Loin is sometimes called fillet – it’s the same part of the animal as fillet steak. An ultra-lean cut of meat, it’s also meltingly tender if cooked properly. The main points to remember are to season your meat and have it at room temperature before you start to cook, to sear the venison loin medallions carefully on a high heat then turn the temperature down to finish cooking to taste and, most importantly, to leave your venison medallions to rest. My trick for doing that is to put them to one side while I make a sauce. This red wine and berry sauce should be prepared up to the final stage before you start cooking the venison, then just reheated and spiced up with the juices from the pan at the last minute.
Here’s a schedule if you are thinking of making this dish for your own Valentine’s Dinner. I served mine with a leek and celeriac gratin that I’d prepared and pre-cooked the day before and popped it in the oven at 170C about half an hour before I wanted to eat. Follow the link through if you want to try the gratin for yourself.
Assuming you’ve got home from work and haven’t prepared anything in advance, here’s how it works. About half an hour before you want to eat start to cook.
- Take the venison medallions out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
- Prepare the cavolo nero by stripping out the woody centre stem and shredding the leaves
- If you are using thyme, pick the tiny leaves off their stalks and put to one side. Discard the stalks. If you are using rosemary, pick off the needle-like leaves and chop finely
- Chop the shallot very finely. The technique I use is to peel, then slice the shallot carefully lengthwise to just above the root, then cut lengthways at right angles to the same point. Then, I cut through down the centre lengthways, lay each shallot half on a chopping board and cut across so that I get a fine dice. I think the official term is called ‘brunoise’, though I am sure no Cordon Bleu chefs would recognise my own version!
- Melt half the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and add the shallots to soften for 8 minutes or so over a low temperature
- Crush the juniper berries and herbs in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt. Add the olive oil and use the mixture to coat the venison medallions well on all sides.
- Add the stock, red berry preserves and wine to the shallots, bring to the boil, then leave to simmer and reduce by about 50%. This should take around 10 minutes maximum. Set to one side
- Meanwhile, steam the cavolo nero in about an inch of water. It should cook for about 6-8 minutes. Once tender, remove from the heat and drain.
- Heat your frying pan over a medium to high heat and add the oiled venison medallions with any remaining oil.
- Sear the medallions quickly on both sides then continue to cook for around 2 minutes on each side until they are cooked (for a rare steak). Adjust the cooking time depending on the size and thickness of your medallions.
- Take the medallions out of the pan and put to one side, covered with a foil tent, to rest.
- Deglaze the frying pan with a little more red wine and pour the juices into the red wine sauce.
- Reheat the sauce and whisk through the rest of the butter.
- Slice the venison medallions and serve arranged on a bed of drained cavolo nero. Drizzle over the berry sauce.
If that all sounds a little too complicated and you are organised, there’s quite a lot you can do the night before or earlier in the evening. Prepare the sauce up to the final stage and pop it in the fridge. Prepare the cavolo nero in advance so it just needs to be steamed. Just leave it covered in cold water in the saucepan you are planning on use. You can even make the herb rub for the venison and coat it in advance, perhaps before your guest arrives Then, all that’s left to do is to steam your cavolo nero, cook your medallions, finish the sauce and plate up. Simples!
Here’s a printable version of the recipe.
A quick and easy dinner recipe using venison loin or beef fillet, a sauce made with red wine, berry preserve and served with cavolo nero
- 1 banana shallot peeled and chopped finely
- 75 ml red wine
- 75 ml chicken or beef stock
- 50 g butter
- 2 teaspoons of your choice of red berry preserve.
- Salt and pepper
- Four venison medallions or two beef fillet steaks weighing around 350g - 400g total
- 1 handful of fresh thyme or rosemary Pick the thyme or rosemary leaves from their stems. Chop rosemary leaves finely as possible
- 5-6 juniper berries
- 1 small head of cavolo nero to serve - or vegetables of your choice.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 glug red wine to deglaze the pan
- salt and black pepper
Chop the shallot very finely.
- Melt half the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and add the shallots to soften for 8 minutes or so over a low temperature
- Crush the juniper berries and herbs in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt. Add the olive oil and use the mixture to coat the venison medallions well on all sides.
Add the stock, red berry preserves and wine to the shallots, bring to the boil, then leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes until it has reduced by about 50%. You may prefer to strain your sauce to remove the shallot and berry pieces, but I think they add to the dish.
Steam the cavolo nero in about an inch of water for about 6-8 minutes. Once tender, remove from the heat and drain.
- Heat your frying pan over a medium to high heat and add the oiled venison medallions with any remaining oil.
Sear the medallions quickly on both sides then continue to cook for around 2 minutes on each side until they are cooked (for a rare steak). Adjust the cooking time depending on the size and thickness of your medallions. Beef fillets will take longer
- Take the medallions out of the pan and put to one side, covered with a foil tent, to rest.
Deglaze the frying pan with a little more red wine then pour the juices into the red wine sauce.
Reheat the sauce and once nearly boiling whisk through the butter.
Slice the venison medallions and serve arranged on a bed of drained cavolo nero. Drizzle over the berry sauce.
It’s vital when you are making this kind of super quick dish to have the right kitchen equipment to hand. There’s nothing worse than a frying pan that sticks – or one where the handle gets hot as you increase the heat. The lovely Samuel Groves Ultimate Carbon Pan that I’ve been checking out is the perfect solution. It cooks just like my cast iron pans – but, it’s at least 30% lighter so much easier to handle, especially when it’s full of hot food. And, it’s carefully designed with a handle that doesn’t get hot when you are frying on the hob. Apparently it’s made with 3.0mm steel, which helps make it feel perfectly balanced and comfy enough to cook something like a pancake (I’ll be trying those next, just in time for pancake day!). The steel is about 98% iron so works on those lovely induction hobs. All you need to do is to wash and season it lightly with oil before you use it for the first time.
Best of all, the Samuel Groves Ultimate Carbon range is made in Britain. It looks and feels like a craftsman’s piece – and so far it has helped elevate my own dishes. Apart from the venison, I’ve also made a veal escalope recipe, veal saltimbocca and it worked perfectly for that recipe too.
For more info on the Ultimate Carbon Range and to place an order, check the Samuel Groves website.
Meanwhile, do check out some of my other game recipes. Here’s a lovely pheasant breast in white wine and mushroom recipe. And, here’s my own favourite, a pot roast partridge recipe with sage.
And if you are thinking of trying my venison loin medallions with red wine and berry sauce, why not pin this post for later
Disclosure: I was sent the Samuel Groves ultimate carbon skillet frying pan to review. All content is editorially given and I was not required to write anything positive.
Looks like the perfect date night recipe – and I do love venison loin.