Pan-fried venison with shallots, mushrooms & wine Recipe

Serves 3

1lb venison loin, cut into inch-thick steaks
300g shallots, one finely chopped, the rest left whole but peeled
250g baby button mushrooms
4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, finely sliced
1/2 bottle red wine
100ml good vegetable stock
Some beurre manié to thicken (equal mixture of plain flour and butter, made into small balls)

I can’t stress enough how absolutely delicious this is.

The venison needs to be rare or it becomes very tough.

To make the sauce, first fry the bacon and chopped shallot in a little vegetable oil, in a saucepan over a medium heat. Cook for 4 or so minutes until the bacon has a little colour.
Add the whole shallots and mushrooms and stir well.
Turn up the heat and deglaze the pan with the wine and stock. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly for 1 hour.
Strain the sauce through a sieve and reserve the solids. Return the liquid to the pan.
At this point, season the steaks well and cook them on a high heat in oil and butter for about 2-3 minutes per side for rare. Remove the steaks and rest well while you finish the sauce.
Finish the sauce by whisking in the beurre manié over a medium heat until you reach the desired thickness. It should be glossy and rich but not too thick. At this point, readd the solids to the sauce and heat through.
To serve, slice the steaks in half horizontally and layer the meat on the sauce. I served this with mustard mash and seasonal vegetables. Enjoy!