Monday, December 6, 2010

Bacon wrapped Venison loin with sweet and sour cherry sauce

Man, it's good.  I even over cooked the venison, and it's still good.  Really good.

1. Brown the venison loins in a skillet, about 2 minutes a side.  Browning adds flavor, so don't skip this step.

2. Remove from heat, to a plate.  Turn on oven to 400°.

3. Wrap venison loins in bacon.  Grind pepper to taste onto loins.  Return to hot skillet and brown the bacon.

4. Toss skillet into oven.

5. In a saucepan, add 3/4 cup dried cherries, 1/2 cup water, and 3 tbsp (more to taste) red wine vinegar.  Bring to boil and gently boil for 10 minutes.

6. I left the loins in for the full 10 minutes, which was too long.  You'll want to pull them out after 5 minutes.  Remove loins to a plate to rest.  Drain the skillet into the cherries, and add 3 tbsp cherry jam for the "sweet" bit of the "sweet and sour".  If you want to get jiggy, give it a couple shots of Tabasco.

7. After loins rest, there will be juices on the plate.  Add that to the cherries.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Note that the  sauce will taste very strong.  That's OK.

8. Slice the loin diagonally, and on the bias.  Finish the sauce with 1 tbsp of butter, off the heat (stir until the butter melts, and the sauce will come together).

9. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes, drizzled with sauce.  Yum!

Serve with a good Pinot Noir, slightly (only slightly) chilled.  An excellent choice would be one of the less well known Burgundies like Monthelie are price performers, and are traditional with game.  It's traditional for a good reason.

I guess you could add some vegetation, if you want.

I have got to get out hunting, so I can eat like this more often.

2 comments:

The Big Guy said...

Well, Jingalls and I are heading out to scout some new ground for wild hog on Friday...

Meanwhile, I have a couple friends with a blueberry farm in South Central Ga that have some varmint deer on the property...
Word 'round the campfire is that the property owner has some doe tags if things look promising.

Gonna buy a real gun soon?

TBG

Lissa said...

NOM!! D'ye think it works with alligators?