Saddle of deer with Spätzle and Brussel Sprouts

Game is not for everyone, but have you ever made a roasted saddle of deer yourself?

A saddle of deer is actually a dish that I like to order in a restaurant. Because getting really good game is not that easy. But if you have a good butcher, then be sure to give it a try.

It just tastes sensational and I can really recommend everyone to do it themselves. Yes, it is a bit more complex to prepare, but saddle of deer is definitely worth it.

Neither does it have that strong game taste—the haut goût – that discourages many from preparing game at home. It is tender as butter, and it tastes best when prepared medium.

How to prepare a saddle of deer

It is actually prepared similarly to a beef fillet, so it’s actually just as easy 🙂

• Parry, that is, free the meat from the visible tendons
• Sear them in the pan
• finish cooking in the oven
• Medium tastes best 😉

How to prepare the Brussels Sprouts

At one point, my mom started plucking the Brussels sprouts into individual leaves. I tell you it’s a hell of a job, but she only cooks it when she has her kitchen helpers (me) there. I can understand now. Because first you have to cut off the stalk, then pluck the dirty outer leaves and then pluck the individual leaves. Ok, at the end, if you don’t feel like it any more, half of it is quickly cut up. But the Brussels sprouts taste so, so much better prepared this way, not all that like cabbage.

The sauce

Normally you make a classic sauce (Jus) with bones, but it works quite well with a good game fond. It is important that you let the sauce boil down and then use the butter to enhance the flavour and get the binding of the sauce.

If you are not a fan of Spätzle (do you exist?) or don’t want to do the extra work, you can also most certainly also quickly boil some pasta with it. Tagliatelle would work best. But it tastes a tad better with Spätzle.

Just try it!

All the best, sabrina x

My personal wine recommendation: A nice Pinot Noir /German Spätburgunder goes really well with it

If you still need a starter, I can warmly recommend a salmon terrine. Simply because you do the main work the day before.

Roasted saddle of deer with Spätzle and Brussels sprouts

challenging

• Prep time:
  1 hours 30 minutes
• Cook time:
  1 hours
• Total time:
  2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 servings

saddle of deer
	800g- 1kg saddle of deer
2	Tbsp olive oil
2	Tbsp butter
1	sprig of fresh thyme
4	juniper berries
2	bay leaves
	salt & pepper
sauce
2	shallots
1	clove of garlic
400 ml	game stock
4	Tbsp butter
50 ml	port wine
70 ml	red wine
	1Tbsp red currant jelly—and some extra for later
2	bay leaves
5	juniper berries
	salt and pepper
Brussels sprouts
750 g	Brussels sprouts
	salt & pepper
1	Tbsp butter
Spätzle
4	eggs
1	Tbsp semolina
400 g	flour
1	tsp grated nutmeg
1	tsp salt
	shot of mineral water

Steps of preparation

1. Take the saddle of deer out of the refrigerator, wash it with cold water and pat it dry with kitchen paper.
2. Parry the back of the deer and free it from the visible tendons.
3. Prepare Brussels sprouts:
4. Cut off the stalk from the Brussels sprouts, pluck the leaves one by one and set aside.
5. For the sauce, cut the shallots into strips.
6. Peel and press the garlic
7. Heat 2 Tbsp butter in a saucepan and sauté the shallots.
8. Deglaze with the port wine and red wine
9. Add the currant jelly, bay leaves, garlic clove and juniper berries and let everything simmer for 5 minutes.
10. Add the game stock and let it boil down.
11. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 120 degrees
12. First whisk the eggs, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl.
13. Add the flour and semolina and mix together to form a smooth Spätzle dough until small bubbles of air come up and set aside. If the dough is too firm, add the dash of mineral water.
14. Season the saddle of deer vigorously with salt and pepper
15. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sear the venison on all sides.
16. Press on the juniper berries and add with the bay leaves and thyme.
17. Place the saddle of deer with the spices on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, the core temperature of the deer should be between 58 °C -60 °C.
18. Finishing the sauce: Pass the sauce through a fine sieve and add the remaining butter to the sauce and let it cook to thicken the sauce.
19. In the meantime, bring 2 pots with water and salt to a boil.
20. Let the Brussels sprouts cook for 2 minutes in one of the pots and then drain off in a sieve.
21. Make the Spätzle in the other pot with a Spätzle press or scraper and set aside in a sieve
22. Heat the butter in a pan and briefly toss the Brussels sprouts and season with salt and pepper.
23. Take the saddle of deer out of the oven and fry it again vigorously in a pan with 2 Tsp of butter.
24. Cut the meat into slices and serve with Brussels sprouts, Spätzle and the sauce and optional some red currant jelly

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