Pave of Venison with Pomme Puree and Green Peppercorn Sauce

Pave of Venison with Pomme Puree and Green Peppercorn Sauce
21 April 2016

Chefs of De Dietrich, Recipes

Recipes by Mike Robinson: Pave of Venison with Pomme Puree and Green Peppercorn Sauce

People travel from far and wide to come to the Pot Kiln and eat this, our most famous dish. It was inspired by the French form of butchering a "slab or tile" from the haunch of beef or lamb. It involves separating the primal muscles from the thigh, then trimming off all silvery sinew and fat until you are left with a piece of meat that looks like fillet but has the flavour of rump. All the muscles are different sizes and depending on which you have cut down into paves the size of your fist. Depending on which species of deer you have the haunches will be completely different sizes, so is hard to be specific about how many you will get from any particular beast. We would expect to get 11 paves from on haunch of Roe Deer, which is one of the most tender and delicious of all the British species. 

Ingredients (Serves 4) 

  • 4 Paves of Venison
  • Olive oil
  • Thyme
  • Pepper
  • 3 Desiree Potatoes
  • 200ml of Double Cream
  • 150g of Unsalted Butter
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Trimmings from Paves
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 1 Carrot, chopped
  • 2 Celery Sticks, chopped
  • ½ Red Wine bottle
  • Splash of Port
  • Splash of Brandy

Method
  1. Rub the paves with oil and tear off some of the thyme leaves and a good grinding of pepper. Don’t season with salt at this stage or it will draw out the juices from the meat.  Set aside (not in fridge as you need meat to be room temperature before cooking).
  2. For the sauce, fry in a little olive oil the trimmings and mirepoix (carrots, celery and onion) until dark browned but not burnt.  Add the wine and cook for an hour on a low temperature at a gentle simmer.  Strain out the meat and veg and return to a clean pan.  Add the port and brandy and reduce by half.  Stir through the marmite, ketchup and jelly, then add the peppercorns just before serving.
  3. Peel, chop and boil the potatoes until just cooked through. Strain and leave to steam for a couple of minutes so any excess water is removed. Push through a sieve, mouli or potato ricer to ensure there are no lumps. This is known to us as Dry Mash and can be stored like this for a few days.  Just before serving, heat the cream and butter in a saucepan with salt and pepper.  When hot, stir in the dry mash and beat until emulsified and soft.
  4. Heat a frying pan until searing hot and have your oven hot at its highest temperature (230c).  Sear the paves, one at a time, then put into a roasting tray with the rest of the thyme and roast for no more than 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and rest for at least 5 minutes on a wooden board.
  5. When ready to serve, have the potato and sauce hot, then smear your potato over the bottom of the plate.  Sit any green veg you have blanched on the potato, then slice the pave onto the veg.  Drizzle with sauce and serve immediately.

Download this recipe here:

Pave of Venison with Pomme Puree and Green Peppercorn Sauce Pave of Venison with Pomme Puree and Green Peppercorn Sauce (388 KB)