Postman
(.375 member)
06/09/16 08:37 AM
Caribou steak in peppercorn cognac cream sauce

So this recipe is really tasty and is very much worth a try. You can substitute beef tenderloin or other quality cuts of game meat if caribou steaks are in short supply.

Ingredients:

Caribou backstrap
1 1/2 ounces cognac
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp olive oil
1 shallot finely diced
2 ounces 35% whipping cream
3 cups chicken stock
Ground Sage
Fresh ground peppercorns
Sea salt or kosher salt

1. Cut the caribou backstrap into steaks (medallions) between 3/4" and 1" thick - Dry the steaks with paper towel

2. Season the steaks with sage, pepper and lightly salt - don't go too heavy on the salt

3. Heat 1/2 of the butter with the olive oil in a large frying pan on high and flash the caribou medallions on both sides. I lay them out in the pan (about a dozen medallions) one at a time and by the time I've got them laid out in the pan, I use a fork and start at the first ones I laid in the pan and start flipping them onto the other side. Add the cognac and shallots.

4. Once all the stakes have been flipped, then start at the first steak And remove the medallions one at a time out of the pan and cover with tin foil on a plate and turn the heat down to medium, and add the chicken stock. Carmilize the shallots and reduce the chicken stock until about 3/4 (but not all!!!) of the moisture is evaporated - this is your sauce so if you've reduced it too much, you'll have a burnt pan and no sauce. While reducing the stock, add the caribou drippings to the pan that have collected on the caribou plate.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool down some and add the remaining butter and use it to deglaze the frying pan. If the pan is too hot, the butter will liquefy and separate. The heat should be so that the remaining butter would melt but not too quickly. Add the cream and stir in to the sauce reduction on low heat.

Plate the medallions and with a gravy spoon, pour some of the sauce and shallot pieces on each medallion.

Serve with basmati rice and a fresh salad.


cordite
(.333 member)
06/09/16 09:24 AM
Re: Caribou steak in peppercorn cognac cream sauce

Thanks Postman!

gryphon
(.450 member)
06/09/16 10:06 AM
Re: Caribou steak in peppercorn cognac cream sauce

Substitute a Sambar strap for the `bou open a beer and sit down and enjoy a hunters dinner...what is it with the effing greenies that they cant get it!

NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
06/09/16 10:16 AM
Re: Caribou steak in peppercorn cognac cream sauce

The title of the recipe in the other thread made me think of the dish immediately. Have eaten it before in restaurants, but not caribou.

Personally I would do a quick cook of the venison, and then transfer it to a low temp oven for a period of time, to set properly.

I can eat meat raw if necessarily but don't prefer it that way. In between rare and medium rare to medium rare is my preference.

Will give this recipe a try most certainly. Thans for posting.


gwh
(.333 member)
06/09/16 11:46 PM
Re: Caribou steak in peppercorn cognac cream sauce

Quote:

Substitute a Sambar strap for the `bou open a beer and sit down and enjoy a hunters dinner...what is it with the effing greenies that they cant get it!



This!!!


Postman
(.375 member)
07/09/16 12:57 AM
Re: Caribou steak in peppercorn cognac cream sauce

T

Quote:

The title of the recipe in the other thread made me think of the dish immediately. Have eaten it before in restaurants, but not caribou.

Personally I would do a quick cook of the venison, and then transfer it to a low temp oven for a period of time, to set properly.

I can eat meat raw if necessarily but don't prefer it that way. In between rare and medium rare to medium rare is my preference.

Will give this recipe a try most certainly. Thans for posting.




One will find that with the caribou medallions, they will go from rare to cooked drier than a popcorn fart extremely quickly in the frying pan. I too will sometimes put beef tenderloin in the oven covered with foil on low heat if they are cut particularly thick, but the caribou medallions are not very big in circumference and I wouldn't recommend the oven treatment. As an alternate, I would suggest waiting an extra moment or two before flipping them, or turn the heat down to medium after the flip and the initial sear on the second side..... The caribou is a very fine grained delicate meat and won't stand much chef abuse

In any event, tastes do vary from person to person.

My first evening in Windhoek saw me seated at a very nice restaurant. I ordered the ostrich carpaccio as a starter and kudu steak as my main. Having never eaten kudu before, I consulted with the waiter and asked him how it was best prepared.... Some meats require special cooking considerations (pork) and I didn't know anything about cooking kudu beyond the fact that they have curly horns. He suggested medium well done was appropriate and so that is how it went. Upon my first bite, I knew I made a big mistake, having interpreted the waiter's advice as relating to preparation requirement vs personal preference options. The meat was grey throughout, and it was as dry as sawdust lacking much of any taste, although it had a lovely gamey overtone.

A few days later in a remote bush camp, I again had opportunity to eat kudu, but this time it was barbequeued and served rare. It was juicy, tender, and very flavourful without tasting gamey.....

I agree that some just can't eat red meat if it's too rare, but medium rare is really as far as one should dare go with most red meat. I myself find blue rare hard to digest. There is a hard to get just right magical spot between rare to medium rare that is easy to digest, yet preserves the delicate flavor of extremely lean game meat: when in doubt, err toward the rare, particularly with game meat.

High fat content cuts of fatty meats such as beef rib eye steaks should go closer to medium rare because one needs to cook sufficiently enough to render the fat and unlock the flavor contained therein.


93x64mm
(.416 member)
07/09/16 06:59 AM
Re: Caribou steak in peppercorn cognac cream sauce

Mouth is watering reading all that!
Hard to cook just right the leaner meats, any venison I've done so far I've 'over cooked' more so due to not cooking enough of it; still tasted bloody good - if a little dry, guess that's what the sauce is for!
Had a mate ask me to cook 'roo for a French exchange student that was staying at her place (this lad was in Heaven, had 3 young ladies to run around after him - their Dad kept a close eye on him though!) & wanted him to taste something unique. So she marinated it in red wine & garlic for 2 days in the fridge, did the sear treatment on the barby with butter & kept applying the marinade as we cooked the sides. The light wasn't great so it was best guess to when we got to a bit more than 'rare' we flipped them off as this was a much as we dared cooked the pieces to let them settle.
Dave did the honours & cut it up after 5 minutes - surprisingly the buggers cooked a fair bit more after being taking off the heat!
Turned out a threat & the young lad & those who tried it enjoy the meal - & thankfully I was off the damn hook!
Know what you mean about getting the right amount of cooking to the individual meat - not easy & vastly different from beef!
93x64mm


Ripp
(.577 member)
13/09/16 03:19 AM
Re: Caribou steak in peppercorn cognac cream sauce

As I am NOT a cook and have a hard time boiling water correctly, passed this on to my wife...going to try it on elk..

Thank you

Ripp



Contact Us NitroExpress.com

Powered by UBB.threads™ 6.5.5


Home | Ezine | Forums | Links | Contact


Copyright 2003 to 2011 - all rights reserved