Roasted Loin of Venison with Braised Red Cabbage and Parsnip Chips

Holy crap. This is the best thing I have cooked in a long time.

I owe a good bit of credit to our good friends Dave and Karena who got us a certain cookbook which deals with sous vide (vacuum bag/water bath) cookery. I am very quickly becoming of a mind to simply sous vide every piece of meat that comes my way. I mean seriously, this was EASILY the best venison I have ever tasted, let alone cooked. It is ALL owed to the sous vide method. I just sealed up one loin, seasoned with salt and pepper, in a bag with a knob of butter and sprig of thyme.

Oh, did I mention that all of the supporting components were perfectly matched to the venison? The braised red cabbage? Best I've ever had and will be the way I cook it from here on out. Lovely, creamy ceps. Crunchy, yet still soft beetroot. The red wine sauce together with the syrup created by the cabbage. And little blobs of parsnip sweetness. Wow.

This is out of the Gordon Ramsay 3-Star Chef cookbook. His flagship Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is one of only three restaurants in the UK to have 3 Michelin stars. All of the recipes in the book were at one time, or are still now on the menu there.

There are a few steps here which need to be done in advance. But let me tell you: IT IS WORTH IT. Start by making the red wine sauce, which requires a veal or beef stock. After you've made the sauce, everything else comes together pretty quickly. I reprint the recipe here as it was written (cooking the meat in a traditional way). If you are lucky enough to have a water bath and a vacuum sealer, cook your venison at 60.5C for 45 minutes, then finish in a screaming hot pan.

Beef Stock

3 kg beef bones, chopped
vegetable oil, tor frying
3 carrots, peeled and halved crossways
2 onions, quartered lengthways
3 whole leeks, cut crossways into 3cm lengths
½ bulb garlic (cut crossways)
3 celery sticks, halved crossways
3 sprigs of fresh or dried thyme
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons tomato puree

Heat the oven to 220C. Roast the bones in a very large, heavy roasting pan for about 30 minutes until dark golden brown, turning them every 10 minutes or so. Lift the bones out and let the excess fat drain off, then put them in a very large, heavy pan. Pour in enough cold water to cover (about 4.5 litres) and bring to the boil.

Meanwhile, heat 4 tbsp oil in a large, heavy pan and fry the carrots over a high heat until dark golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain in a colander. Repeat with the onions, then the leeks and garlic, and finally the celery, adding more oil as needed.

Return all the vegetables to the pan and stir in the thyme, bay leaf, and tomato puree. Cook for about 5 minutes, and drain in a colander. When the water reaches boiling point, skim, then add the vegetables.

Bring back to the boil and skim again, then turn the heat down to very low. Cook very gently for 4-6 hours, uncovered, skimming regularly. Ladle into a colander set over a bowl, then pass the strained stock through a muslin-lined sieve into a clean pan. Boil until reduced to about 1.5 Iitres. Use straightaway, or cool quickly and refrigerate in a covered container, then remove any surface fat before using.

Red Wine Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped
100 g meat trimmings (beef, veal, venison or poultry)
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
few thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
750 ml red wine (I recommend a GOOD Cabernet Sauvignon)
400 ml chicken stock
400 ml veal or beef stock
sea salt and black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy-based saucepan and saute the shallots for 4-6 minutes until they are soft and begin to caramelise. Add the meat trimmings and fry for a few minutes until browned. Add the peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf and sherry vinegar. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and bring to the boil. Boil the liquor rapidly until reduced by three-quarters to a rich syrupy glaze. Add the chicken and veal stocks and return to the boil. Once again, boil vigorously until the sauce has reduced by half, or until it has reached the desired consistency. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl and adjust the seasoning. Reheat to serve.

Roasted Loin of Venison with Braised Red Cabbage and Parsnip Chips

VENISON:
600 g loin of venison fillet
sea salt and black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
few knobs of butter
BRAISED RED CABBAGE:
1 small red cabbage, trimmed
100 g butter
150 g light brown sugar
75 ml sherry or red wine vinegar
PARSNIP PUREE:
2 parsnips
150 ml milk
75 ml double cream
25 g butter
BEETROOT FONDANT:
2 beetroot
15 g butter, plus a few knobs
1 teaspoon olive oil
100 ml vegetable stock or chicken stock
PARSNIP CRISPS:
2 medium parsnips
groundnut oil for deep-frying
CREAMED CEPS:
200 g fresh ceps, cleaned and chopped
20 g butter
60 ml double cream
TO SERVE:
1 quantity RED WINE SAUCE (above)
olive oil to drizzle

FIRST, PREPARE THE RED CABBAGE. Halve, core and finely shred the cabbage. Melt the butter with the sugar and vinegar in a pan. When the sugar has dissolved, tip in the cabbage and toss to coat. Cover with a crumpled piece of greaseproof paper and cook over a low heat for about 1 1/2 hours until the cabbage is tender. (Lift the paper and give the cabbage a stir every now and then.) If there is still a fair amount of liquid, drain the cabbage and set aside while you boil the liquid to reduce to a syrupy sauce, then pour over the cabbage and toss to coat.

NEXT, PREPARE THE PARSNIP PUREE. Peel the parsnips and finely slice the thinner ends. Cut the thicker ends into quarters, cut out the tough cores, then thinly slice. Put into a saucepan with the milk and cook for 20-25 minutes or until very soft. Tip the cooked parsnips into a blender with about half of the liquor and whiz to a fine puree, adding a little more of the milk if necessary. Return to the pan and stir in the cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a squeezy bottle and keep warm in a pan of hot water.

FOR THE BEETROOT FONDANT, peel the beetroot and cut into 1.5cm thick rounds. Heat the butter and olive oil in a saute pan. Season the beetroot rounds and fry for about 2 minutes on each side until browned. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil.

DOT THE BEETROOT with tiny knobs of butter, then put a piece of greaseproof paper on top. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until most of the stock has been absorbed and the beetroot is tender.

TO MAKE THE PARSNIP CRISPS, peel the parsnips and finely slice into long ribbons, using a mandolin or a swivel peeler. Heat the groundnut oil in a deep saucepan or deep-fryer until hot. (A piece of bread dropped in should sizzle immediately.) Fry the parsnips in batches until golden brown and crisp all over. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Keep warm in a low oven.

WHEN READY TO SERVE, preheat the oven to 200°C. Season the venison loin with salt and pepper. Heat an ovenproof frying pan, then add the olive oil. When hot, add the venison and brown for 4-5 minutes, turning to colour evenly and adding the butter after a minute or so; spoon over the venison to baste as it melts and foams. Put the pan into the oven and roast for 6-8 minutes until the venison is medium rare; it should feel lightly springy when pressed. Remove and set aside to rest for a few minutes.

MEANWHILE, COOK THE CEPS. Melt the butter in a saute pan until it begins to foam. Add the ceps, season and saute for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Stir in the cream and remove from the heat. Warm up the red wine sauce.

TO SERVE, put a neat pile of braised red cabbage in the centre of each warm plate and top with the beetroot fondant and a generous spoonful of creamed ceps. Squeeze little dots of parsnip puree around the plates. Slice the venison thickly and arrange, overlapping over the creamed ceps. Carefully pour the red wine sauce around the plates and drizzle with a little olive oil. Garnish with the parsnip crisps and serve at once.