Chef Juliette
Selle de Chevreuil et Cuissot
Selle de Chevreuil et Cuissot teaches the discipline of game: strip every tendon, skip marinade for a young, well-hung joint, roast in butter, and stop before leanness turns to dryness.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Noisettes et Côtelettes de Chevreuil
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1800, Noisettes et Côtelettes de Chevreuil, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Lean venison, fierce heat, and no dawdling: fresh noisettes meet foaming butter, marinated cutlets meet smoking oil, then croûtons turn a fast sear into a generous classical platter.
Main Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
25 min
Active Time
20 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 servings
Noisettes et Côtelettes de Chevreuil (venison loin medallions and rib cutlets) is a lesson in fierce, brief heat. Venison is lean, so the one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: a dry, evenly trimmed piece browns before its center overcooks; a wet or ragged one does not. The meat should leave the skillet bronzed outside, rosy within, and still yielding under a finger.
The original kitchen kept Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) by the gallon, a saucier on staff, stock never off the fire, a salamander at hand, and enough cooks to fry croûtons while another watched the game. This entry actually calls for no sauce, stock, or salamander. At home, two cups of the finished marinade, one heavy skillet used in sequence, and a low oven to hold the butter-fried bread preserve the intent for four. The great vat and simultaneous hands were brigade scaffolding, so they go; exact trimming, truly dry meat, fierce fat, and immediate service are the dish, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Choose the fresh method and the pieces cook in butter. Give them a moderate marinade and they go into smoking neutral oil, then onto clean absorbent paper at once. Cutlets form a crown, while noisettes sit on oval croûtons. Have the platter warm before you begin, because swift service after the sear is the step that matters most.
Noisettes et côtelettes de chevreuil belong to the formal game service codified in Parisian grand kitchens, where roe deer arriving from woodland hunting estates was trimmed into the neat forms already used for lamb. The dish carried game from the hunt table into the dining room by making the cut and arrangement as important as the sear: cutlets rose in a crown, while loin rounds sat on butter-fried croûtons. Noisette names the small round cut, not a hazelnut seasoning, and chevreuil traditionally means roe deer rather than every kind of venison.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
venison loin noisettes or small rib cutlets
Quantity
8 pieces, about 2 ounces (55 g) each
cut 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick; silver skin and excess surface fat removed
Cooked Marinade for Venison (optional)
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / about 475 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168)
completely cold
pain de mie or firm white sandwich bread
Quantity
8 slices, about 6 ounces (170 g) total
crusts removed and cut into small ovals
unsalted butter
Quantity
10 tablespoons (150 ml / 142 g)
divided; 4 tablespoons for the croûtons and 4 to 6 tablespoons for fresh venison
neutral high-smoke-point oil (optional)
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g)
for marinated venison
fine salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
divided
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| venison loin noisettes or small rib cutletscut 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick; silver skin and excess surface fat removed | 8 pieces, about 2 ounces (55 g) each |
| Cooked Marinade for Venison (optional)completely cold | 2 cups (475 ml / about 475 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) |
| pain de mie or firm white sandwich breadcrusts removed and cut into small ovals | 8 slices, about 6 ounces (170 g) total |
| unsalted butterdivided; 4 tablespoons for the croûtons and 4 to 6 tablespoons for fresh venison | 10 tablespoons (150 ml / 142 g) |
| neutral high-smoke-point oil (optional)for marinated venison | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g) |
| fine saltdivided | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Rimmed tray fitted with a wire rack
- •Butcher's twine for noisettes
- •Large warmed oval serving platter
Instructions
- 1
Trim and choose method
Make every piece the same thickness so all eight finish together. Tie each noisette around its circumference with butcher's twine to hold a neat round; trim cutlets evenly and scrape the exposed bones clean. For the marinated method, lay the venison in a snug nonreactive dish, cover with the completely cold Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168), and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, turning once. That is a moderate marinade; much longer and the acid begins curing the surface. Lift out the meat, discard every drop of marinade that touched it, and press the pieces between clean towels until absolutely dry. For the fresh method, omit the marinade and dry the meat just as thoroughly.
If the surface still looks glossy or damp, change towels and press again. Wet venison spits, steams, and turns grey before it browns. - 2
Fry the croûtons
Heat the oven to 200°F (95°C) and warm the serving platter inside. Cut the bread into eight ovals just wider than the noisettes. These are the croûtons: shaped pieces of bread fried in butter, not dry cubes. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet over medium heat and fry four croûtons until deep gold on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with another 2 tablespoons of butter, then hold the croûtons on a rack in the low oven. If the butter darkens before the bread colors, lower the heat and replace it; scorched butter will follow the bread to the table.
- 3
Sear the fresh pieces
Use this step only for fresh venison. Wipe the skillet free of crumbs, set it over medium-high heat, and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Season four pieces with salt and pepper just before they meet the pan. When the foam subsides and the butter smells nutty but is not black, add the meat without crowding. Sear noisettes for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per broad side; give cutlets 2 to 3 minutes per side, holding the fat edge against the pan briefly where needed. Remove them at 127 to 130°F (53 to 54°C) for medium-rare, then repeat with the remaining meat and fresh butter. If the butter blackens, move the venison to a plate, wipe out the pan, and begin again with clean butter. Ça se rattrape; burnt milk solids do not.
- 4
Sear the marinated pieces
Use this step only for marinated venison. Wipe the skillet spotless, add the oil, and heat it over high heat until the first faint smoke appears. Add four thoroughly dried pieces and toss them quickly in the fierce heat, searing noisettes for 60 to 90 seconds per broad side and cutlets for 90 seconds to 2 minutes per side. Remove them at 127 to 130°F (53 to 54°C), then repeat with the second batch. Transfer each batch immediately to a rack lined with clean absorbent paper and blot away the surface oil without pressing out the juices. If liquid gathers in the skillet, lift out the meat, dry it again, pour off the liquid, and reheat the pan before continuing with fewer pieces.
- 5
Rest and dish
Rest the venison for 4 minutes, uncovered, and remove any twine. Taste a marinated piece before adding salt, since the marinade already carries seasoning. For noisettes, place each round on an oval croûton and arrange them in a circle on the warm platter. For cutlets, stand them in an overlapping crown with one butter-fried croûton between each pair. Serve immediately. No sauce has been forgotten; the clean taste of the game, the seared surface, and the butter-rich croûtons are the preparation. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Chevreuil traditionally means roe deer. Farmed deer loin or a small rack is the practical equivalent; ask the butcher for eight evenly sized pieces and insist that every strip of silver skin be removed, because fierce heat turns it tough.
- •Use the marinade for older or stronger-tasting game. Young, tender farmed venison is splendid fresh, and butter lets its mild flavor remain clear. Whichever method you choose, drying the surface is not optional.
- •Choose inspected farmed venison if serving it medium-rare. Wild-harvested deer carries risks that vary by species, handling, and region, so follow the finishing temperature advised by your local wildlife or food-safety authority.
- •A red Burgundy or a mature cru Beaujolais has the acidity and quiet fruit this lean meat wants. Keep the side dish simple, such as celeriac purée or buttered mushrooms, and let the formal crown have its moment.
Advance Preparation
- •Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) can be prepared ahead in its own recipe and chilled completely before use. Measure only what is needed here, and discard the portion that touches raw meat.
- •Trim and tie the venison up to a day ahead. Keep it covered and refrigerated, then dry it again immediately before cooking.
- •The croûtons can be fried up to 2 hours ahead. Recrisp them on a rack in a 325°F (165°C) oven for 5 minutes before warming the platter.
- •For the marinated method, begin 3 to 4 hours before cooking. The fresh method requires no additional waiting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 160g)
Calories
500 calories
Total Fat
33 g
Saturated Fat
19 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
170 mg
Sodium
860 mg
Total Carbohydrates
21 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
29 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Poultry (Volaille) - Venison and Ground Game
Browse the full collection
Chef Juliette
Selle de Chevreuil à l’Allemande
A three-day marinade perfumes this lean saddle, but the roast lives or dies by its rosy center; the tray fond, cream, meat glaze, and one juniper berry make the sauce.
Chef Juliette
Selle de Chevreuil à la Baden-Baden
A butter-poêled venison saddle, carved rosy and flanked by unsweetened pears scented with cinnamon and lemon, with clear game jus and redcurrant jelly at the table.
Chef Juliette
Selle de Chevreuil aux Cerises
Verjuice perfumes rather than pickles this saddle, while a thermometer protects its rosy centre. Poivrade and red-currant jelly meet in strict equality, with semi-candied cherries folded through for the generous game table.