Venison in Sour Cream Dough with Elderberry Sauce
Rich sour cream pastry and venison farce wrap a rosy venison fillet. Slices are served in a pool of elderberry sauce, a somewhat tart taste that is the perfect foil for the venison.
Ingredients
- Sour Cream Dough
- Unsalted Butter - 3 tablespoons, softened
- Flour - 2 cups
- Pinch of salt
- Creme fraiche or sour cream - 1/2 cup
- Herb Vinegar - 1 teaspoon
- Egg Yolks - 2
- Venison Tenderloin Fillet - 1 pound
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Thyme - 1/2 teaspoon, minced
- Allspice - 1/2 teaspoon
- Cognac - 1 tablespoon
- Port Wine - 1 tablespoon
- Egg White - 1
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1/4 cup
- Unsalted Butter - 1 tablespoon
- Egg - 1
- Cool Water - 1 tablespoon
- Elderberry Sauce
- Venison Stock - 1/2 cup, (see Cooking Basics)
- Elderberry Puree - 2 ounces (alt. cranberry)
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons, cut in small pieces
- Dash of freshly ground pepper
- Rosemary Sprigs - 6
Instructions
To make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the butter and flour. Add salt, creme fraiche, and vinegar and mix together. Mix in the eggs. Turn out onto a work surface and knead with your hands until the dough is smooth and becoming elastic. Set aside and let rest for 30 minutes.
To prepare the venison farce: Cut off one fourth of the venison fillet. Set the larger piece aside. Cube the smaller portion and put into the bowl of a food processor. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, and allspice. Add the cognac, Port wine, and egg white. Pulse until well chopped. Add the cream and pulse three times.
To make the venison roll: Saute the larger venison fillet in 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat until seared and sealed on the outside. Remove and let cool. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 450 F. On a work surface, roll out the dough until it is 2 inches longer than the length of the reserved venison fillet and 3-1/2 times the width. Spread the dough with the venison farce, leaving an inch bare at each end, and down one side. The farce should cover an area large enough to encase the fillet. Place the fillet one inch in from the farce-covered side of the dough and roll the dough around the fillet. Thinly spread some of the farce across the bare edges to help seal the packet. Seal the ends and trim. Trim the long side to fit. Save all trimmings. Press the long side to seal, and put the packet on the lined baking sheet, seam-side down. Combine the egg and water to form an egg wash. Roll out the trimmings and cut into long thin strips. Brush the entire surface of the packet with egg wash. Starting at one end of the packet, drape a strip in a serpentine pattern down the length of the packet. Go back over the length of the packet with another strip, reversing the pattern. Brush with egg wash again. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, then remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
To make the sauce: Bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and add the puree. Let the sauce return to a boil and let it cook 2 to 3 minutes to reduce slightly. Take off the heat and stir in the butter, a few bits at a time. Season with a few grindings of pepper.
To serve: Pool the sauce in the serving plates. Cut the venison packet diagonally into thick slices, and stand 3 slices in the sauce on each plate. Garnish each with a sprig of rosemary.
