Ingredients
Duxelles
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup shallots, finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Venison
- 6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
- 1 (2lb or so) Venison Back-strap
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil or bacon fat for searing
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Flour, for rolling pastry shell
- 1 pound thawed puff pastry shell
- 1 egg, beaten
- Coarse sea or kosher salt
Preparation Method
Duxelles
Warm the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and thyme to the pan. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and strain any remaining liquid off. Allow the mushroom mixture to cool.
Venison Recipe
Spread out a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter or a large cutting board. Lay out single pieces of prosciutto, overlapping them to create a large solid rectangle, large enough to wrap around your venison roast. Once you are satisfied with the size of the prosciutto rectangle, spread the duxelles evenly over the prosciutto.
Season the venison with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy frying pan over high heat and add a light coating of olive oil or bacon fat. Sear the venison on all sides for a few minutes until nicely browned. Remove from heat and let cool to touch. Smear the venison on all sides with the Dijon mustard. Lay the back strap in the middle of the duxelles covered prosciutto rectangle, then roll it up tightly in the plastic wrap. This should form to a nice burrito like shape. Put it the refrigerator for ½ hour or so to firm up and help retain its shape.
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
LIGHTLY flour your work surface and roll the puff pastry to a ¼ inch thickness. You may have to overlap the two sheets that come in the package together to get a piece the right size to wrap around your venison. Set the back strap in the center of the rolled pastry dough and wrap it around the venison and then brush the egg wash on the edge to seal. Trim the ends if necessary and brush again with the egg wash, folding the flaps to completely seal the meat. You can make some decorations with the scraps for the top if you want to really show off. Now place the meat pastry seam side down on a baking sheet and brush with the remaining egg wash. Sprinkle some coarse salt over the whole thing and make a couple of small slits in the top to release steam as it cooks.
Bake for about a half hour until the pastry crust is golden brown and the internal temperature is 125 degrees F. Let the roast rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Serve with a spicy green salad with a light vinaigrette and roasted root vegetable side. I would choose a full bodied Zinfandel or a Pinot Noir to accompany this decadent meal on the wine front. As for a beer pairing, I would opt for a robust brown Ale. Cheers