Venison Stroganoff
Venison stroganoff is perhaps one of my most requested venison dishes. This classic Russian dish blends creaminess with mushrooms to make for quite a savory dish.
However, you will find this recipe is a little different than most.
Ingredients
Depending on what part of the world you in you will find different ingredients for stroganoff.
For this recipe I wanted to keep it simple, yet add enough ingredients to create a melody of flavors.
Meat
One of the main components of stroganoff is the meat. Traditionally this dish is made with beef, but given that we're all about wild food we use venison or elk.
However, what is important is the cut of meat you use. Venison stroganoff requires a prime cut of meat due to the short cooking time.
Tougher cuts like venison round will not have enough time to tenderize during the cooking process.
For this reason, the recommended cuts are backstrap, tenderloin, flat iron, or flank, although I usually reserve the flank steak for venison fajitas.
Mushrooms
This is where my recipe varies from most other recipes you can find online. I'm an outdoorsman and there is no way I will go to the store and buy champignons over some wild mushrooms.
My mushroom of choice is porcinis, also known as king bolettes. I collect dozens of these every year and dry them.
You will find most of my dishes that have mushrooms will normally have king bolettes or some other form of wild-harvested mushroom.
A couple of things to keep in mind when using wild mushrooms, the flavor profile is much more complex and pairs better with venison.
When using dried mushrooms the ratio is about 10 - 1. So this recipe uses 1.5 oz of dried porcini, if using fresh mushrooms you would need about 15 oz.
Cream
A classic trait of stroganoff is its creaminess, which can be achieved in various ways.
Some recipes call for only fresh whipping cream, and others only sour cream.
Some recipes use a tin of mushroom soup (please don't do that).
My preference is to use half-heavy whipping cream and half sour cream.
This gives the dish lots of creamy texture but without too much tang from the sour cream.
If tang is your thing you can use all sour cream, or replace the whipping cream with natural yogurt.
Wine
Wine is optional in this recipe, sometimes I use it sometimes I don't, but it does make a noticeable difference.
If you opt to use wine, then use a dry white wine.
The wine brings a little tartness and sweetness to the dish. I usually use it if I am mixing creams, but if using only sour cream I forgo the wine in place of brandy.
Brandy brings a lot more flavor and roundness to this dish.
Steps
One of the great things about this dish is you can make it in less than 30 minutes.
The first step is to rehydrate your mushrooms in warm but not hot water.
While they are rehydrating you can prepare the venison, season it, and coat it with flour.
Brown the venison on a hot pan with high temp oil or clarified butter, and set aside to rest. The juices will leak out, reserve the juice as it will be returned to the pan with the venison.
Lower the temperature of the pan a little and add the mushrooms. We want to get these a little brown also.
Add the onions and cook until translucent.
If you are using wine or brandy now is the time to add it. Reduce the wine by about half. Be careful of brandy around the flame if using a gas cooker.
Add the mushrooms water.
Cook for about 4 minutes
Add the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in the heavy cream and reduce for about 4 minutes.
In a separate bowl add the sour cream. Next gently and slowly stir in the contents of the pan. This is to temper the sour cream. If you add it directly to the pan it will split and look like a mess.
Once the cream is tempered you can return all the contents to the pan of a low heat and reduce until you reach your desired texture.
If you are in a hurry, you can use a cornstarch slurry to speed things up. Half a tablespoon of cornstarch and half a tablespoon of cold water. Stir into the sauce an cook for about one minute.
Serve over pasta or egg noodles or mash and garnish with fresh chives or parsley.
Venison Stroganoff
- 1.5 pounds venison or elk backstrap (Sliced thinly (note 1))
- 1.5 oz dry porcini mushrooms + 1/2 cup warm water ((note 2))
- 3 medium shallots
- 1 cup venison stock ((note 3))
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp high temp oil (grapeseed, avocado, etc)
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup dry white wine or 3 tbsp brandy (optional)
- Pinch grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp fish sauce (optional)
To serve
- 8-10 oz pasta (optional)
- 1 tbsp chives ((finely chopped) optional)
- 1 sprig parsley (optional)
- Place the mushrooms in the water to rehydrate
- Grind the salt and pepper and season the venison
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium - high heat. Add the venison in small batches to brown. Transfer to a plate to rest
- Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the shallots and gently cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Carefully pour the brandy or wine and deglaze the pan, watch the flame unless you intend to flambé
- Add the mushroom water, and reduce by half
- Add the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the fish sauce if using
- Gently stir in the heavy cream and reduce for about 4 minutes
- In a separate large bowl add the sour cream, gently pour over the contents of the pan while stirring to temper the cream
- Add all ingredients back to the pan including the venison and its juices. Cook over a vey low heat until desired texture is reached (Note 4)
- Add the nutmeg
- Serve over pasta or potatoes
- This recipe is best made with prime cuts of elk or venison, such as the backstrap or tenderloin. You could also use a flank or flat iron.
- If using fresh mushrooms you will need 10oz
- I try to use venison stock in place of store-bought stock where possible, however, a low sodium beef or chicken stock can be substituted directly for venison stock,
- Be careful that the temperature is low, if it gets too hot the sour cream will spilt. To speed up the thickening, you can make a cornstarch slurry with 1/2 tbsp cornstarch and 1/2 tbsp of cold water. Pour into the sauce while stirring for 1 minute.