Noisettes de Chevreuil Walkyrie

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12 to 14-inch heavy skillet
• •2-quart heavy saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Piping bag with a ½-inch fluted tip
• •Broiler-safe sheet pan fitted with a rack
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Large round serving platter
• •Small sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the service

   Tie the noisettes around their circumference if they are not already neat and round, then pat them dry and refrigerate uncovered while you build the sauce. Fit a piping bag with a ½-inch fluted tip, place a rack over a sheet pan, and set out a large round platter and sauceboat. Fill the platter and sauceboat with very hot water shortly before assembly, then dry them thoroughly. The venison cannot wait while you search for the piping tip.

   Even thickness matters more than perfect circles. Noisettes that match in height will reach the pan and leave it together.
2. 2

   Build the venison sauce

   Heat 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the venison trimmings and brown them deeply on every side, then add the carrot, shallot, mushroom trimmings, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook until the vegetables bronze and the saucepan floor carries a dark fond. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, until it smells faintly of toasted hazelnut. Add the vinegar and reduce it nearly dry, then pour in the wine and reduce by two-thirds, scraping up every browned speck. Add the stock, peppercorns, juniper, and bouquet garni. Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, skimming as needed, then strain through a fine sieve and reduce to about 1½ cups, until the sauce lightly coats a spoon. Keep it at the barest tremble.

3. 3

   Crisp the Berny quoits

   Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Set the cooked Pommes Berny quoits on the prepared rack and heat them for 6 to 8 minutes, until their crust is evenly golden and crisp again. Remove them before switching on the broiler and leave them on the rack so their undersides do not soften. Meanwhile, warm the Purée d’Oignons, dite Soubise (No. 2184) over very low heat, stirring gently. It must hold the ridges of the piping tip: if it slumps, cook off a little moisture; if it is too stiff, beat in a teaspoon of the warm stock. Ça se rattrape. Spoon it into the piping bag and stand the bag upright in a mug near the stove.

4. 4

   Grill the mushrooms

   Set the broiler rack about 6 inches from the heat and heat the broiler fully. Melt 1 tablespoon of the unsalted butter, brush it over both sides of the mushroom caps, and season them with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground pepper. Broil cap-side up for 3 minutes, then turn them cavity-side up and broil for another 2 to 3 minutes, until browned and tender but still able to hold the Soubise. If liquid gathers in the cavities, tip it away and return the mushrooms to the broiler for 30 seconds. Wet mushrooms slide and dilute the sauce; a fierce final half-minute repairs them.

5. 5

   Sauté the noisettes

   Take the noisettes from the cold about 20 minutes before cooking, then season them with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon ground pepper. Heat a large heavy skillet until a drop of water vanishes at once. Sauté, cooking quickly in a little hot fat, in two batches: add 1 tablespoon clarified butter, lay in four noisettes, and leave them untouched for 1½ to 2 minutes. Turn, add 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, and baste for another 1½ to 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining clarified butter, another tablespoon of unsalted butter, and the second batch. For inspected farmed venison where local guidance permits, remove the meat at 125 to 130°F (52 to 54°C) for a rosy centre; otherwise follow the safe temperature given by the supplier or local authority. Rest the noisettes for 5 minutes. If the butter blackens before the meat browns, lift the meat out, discard the burnt fat, and continue with fresh clarified butter. The fond stays, the bitterness goes.

6. 6

   Finish the sauce

   Pour off the loose fat from the skillet without disturbing its fond. Add about ½ cup of the venison sauce and boil for 30 seconds, scraping the pan clean, then strain this back into the saucepan. Reduce until the sauce is nappant, meaning it coats the back of a spoon without running off like broth. Take it off the heat and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter. If the sauce is thin, reduce it before adding the butter; if too tight, loosen it with a spoonful of stock. If the butter separates, whisk in a teaspoon of cold water away from the heat. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Build the crown

   Arrange the eight crisp Pommes Berny quoits in a close crown on the warmed platter. Set one noisette squarely on each quoit, then place a grilled mushroom cavity-side up on every noisette. Pipe a generous fluted rosette of Purée d’Oignons, dite Soubise (No. 2184) into each mushroom. Spoon a narrow ribbon of venison sauce over the noisettes and around the base, letting it touch the potatoes without drowning their crisp crust. Pour the remaining sauce into the warmed sauceboat and send it separately, exactly as the dish requires. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for an intact roebuck or farmed venison loin, not stew meat, and have it cut into eight medallions of equal thickness. A larger deer gives a deeper flavor than roebuck, but the same careful sauté applies. Beef tenderloin makes a pleasant plate, but it changes the dish.
• •Use brown stock that sets softly when cold. The original kitchen had concentrated game stock always ready; rich unsalted veal stock is the honest home equivalent because the browned venison trimmings give it the proper game character.
• •Fresh cèpes may replace the cultivated mushroom caps when they are firm, young, and broad enough to hold the Soubise. Dried cèpes belong in a sauce, not on top of the noisettes, where their rehydrated texture turns spongy.
• •Do not pour all the sauce over the platter. The crisp Pommes Berny are part of the composition, and flooding them destroys the contrast the garnish was built to provide. A little over, the rest apart.
• •A red Burgundy with lively acidity suits the lean venison, mushroom, and onion without overwhelming them. Pour before you begin the final sauté, because those last minutes belong entirely to the stove.

Advance Preparation

• •The venison sauce can be prepared through straining and reduction up to two days ahead. Chill it promptly, then reheat gently and finish it with the skillet fond and cold butter just before serving.
• •Purée d’Oignons, dite Soubise (No. 2184) can be made a day ahead. Reheat it over low heat and correct its consistency before filling the piping bag.
• •The Pommes Berny quoits may be formed and cooked according to their own preparation earlier in the day, then restored to crispness in the oven while the sauce waits.
• •The mushrooms can be cleaned and stemmed, and the noisettes cut and tied, several hours ahead. Keep both covered and cold, then dry the venison again before seasoning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 370g)