It's all in the game: Red deer - Hirsch Saltimbocca

Red deer Saltimbocca

It was a nice Thursday evening when I popped into my mates on the way home from work ,he has a pig rearing farm and cures, smokes his own hams, he also runs a party service and does events on his small (hee hee) holding and farms. Oh besides that he has his stall at the Rheda Market on Wednesday and Saturdays.

I had popped in to see if he had been out for a hunt, which he had and he had a red deer lying on the block that he was busy butchering, we had a chat and I said if he went out doing a bit of a hunt I wanted a couple of hares and pheasants (I would be away for the next weekend so couldn’t take part in the hunt). We had a chat and as I left I was hit in the back with 2 packs of something, I turned and Clemens winked and said that is your Sunday lunch. I was now the proud processor of some very nice Hirsch rump steaks

So having my meat meant that Linda wouldn’t go hungry this weekend, it would only mean a trip to the Kiel market to get the vegetables, I had decided on making saltimbocca in a game sauce, accompanied by gnocchi, speck bohnen (bacon and green beans), mushroom ragout and red cabbage.

So here is my recipe:

First get yourself some nice Red deer steaks cut from the loin, prepare (cut off any silver skin). Marinade in:

1 shallot chopped

1 clove of garlic crushed

1 teaspoon of course sea salt

5-6 allspice berries (pimentos)

6 pepper corns

Sprig of thyme

Sprig of rosemary

3 small bay leaves

Zest of a lemon

2 teaspoons of my game spice

200 ml of red wine

Crush the allspice berries, pepper, game spices, salt with a pestle and mortar add the red wine, grate the zest of a lemon pour over the steaks add the garlic and chopped shallot. Add all to a Ziploc bag and pop into the fridge for 24 hours.

Remove from the bag and save the marinade. Pat dry, flatten and place a piece of Coppa pinned with a sage leaf on top of each steak, heat some butter and oil in a heavy based pan and brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and place in an ovenproof dish, make your game sauce and pour over the Saltimbocca and put in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 180 degrees.

Game sauce:

1 Chopped onion

1 Chopped clove of garlic

A small piece of celeriac chopped

White of a leek sliced and chopped

1 carrot peeled and chopped

Oil for frying

A few chopped stoned black olives

A few (3-4) soft sundried tomatoes

1 teaspoon of tomato puree

3 chopped salted anchovy filets

1 teaspoon capers chopped

The marinade

10ml of gin

½ pint of chicken stock (game would be better but alas all gone)

Soften the chopped vegetables in olive oil, add the tomato puree and fry a little, add the rest of the ingredients and lastly add the stock and the marinade, allow to cook slowly adding the gin right at the very end.

Gnocchi.

boil some potatoes in their skins, remove the skins, watch the pinkies they are hot and mash add half the amount of flour and beat together, add an egg and mix well, season with salt.

roll out into sausages and cut in half and then each half into 4, roll over the back of a fork on a floured board, put into boiling water and when they rise remove and set to one side until ready to sauteé. Sauteé in foaming sage butter.

Doing the chefs swing

Red cabbage

1 shallot diced small

Slice a red cabbage

dice 2 apples

3 bay leaves

6 pimento berries

1" piece of cinammon bark

6 cloves

1/4 of a nutmeg

4 cardamon pods

200ml of redwine and 50 ml of redwine vinegar

2 table spoons of redcurrent jelly or jam

Soften the shallot in a little oil, crush the spices roughly and add with the apple and allow to soften, now add the redcabbage and mix well, add the redwine and vinegar, lower the heat, lid on and allow to sweat down. when ready adjust the sweetness with the redcurrent jelly or jam.

Wild mixed mushroom ragu.

Chanterelles, cepes, brown caps, penny buns (in fact any that you can lay your hands on )

Coppa diced small

Shallot

2 slices of lemon zest

Chopped parsley

Small pot of herb creme fraise

S&P to taste

Fry the coppa in a little oil, add the shallots and soften, add the mushrooms until they start to give off their juices, add the creme frais and adjust seasoning.

Green beans with speck and onions

Green beans blanched and then sauteéd in speck and onions