Did I mention that I bought some venison a few weeks ago?
It’s farmed venison. I can see the woods where the deer live from my balcony.
Every fall they cull the herd and sell the venison…. Or, I should say they sell what they don’t want for themselves to a few people who know about it.
My neighbor knows.
I bought 2 kilos of ‘casserole’, which is large, very well-trimmed pieces. (I made a Venison in Red Wine last week that was wonderful, but more about that later.) I also bought a 16oz (480gr) ‘steak’.
Since it was all wrapped and frozen I had no idea what I was really getting.
We decided to have the steak for Christmas Eve.
After it was thawed we discovered it was one, large piece that almost looked like part of the tenderloin. A discussion ensued and a decision made: We (that’s the Royal ‘We’) would roast it.
We made an excellent decision. Often simple is best….
Roast Venison Steak
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- whole or piece of venison tenderloin, about 16oz (480gr)
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 tsp za’atar
- 1/2 tsp celery salt
- generous amount of fresh pepper
Instructions:
- Rub venison with oil
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper and za’atar.
- Roast in 400F (200C) oven for 15 – 25 minutes, until meat thermometer registers 130F (54C) for medium.
- Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
It was so tender and flavorful…. We were most pleased.
Za’atar is a mixture of lemon thyme, sumac and sesame.
My Moroccan cook book says za’atar is the Arabic word for thyme, specifically a wild thyme that is more pungent than the cultivated varieties. A substitute would be dried Greek thyme or fresh lemon thyme. It goes on to say not to confuse it with the Lebanese herb and spice mix used to sprinkle on bread.
The next day, Christmas Day, I made my 30 dollar, 8 lb turkey…..
Everyone agreed that it was a truly excellent turkey (ahem….)
Now we are working on les restes (French for leftovers).
And because I know you’re curious, and I have the photos…. Here is our Christmas table.
Our neighbors joined us for dinner… And brought the traditional Christmas Pudding.
No, I didn’t take anymore food photos…..
Once we start the dinner food and wine and talking take precedence over photos.
I hope you all had a lovely holiday.
Those tree napkins are adorable! You need to do a little video on how you folded them 🙂
Your turkey looked delicious. I’m glad it was a hit. Such rotten luck when you spend way more than you think you should and something happens that causes it to fail. Like my standing rib roast. It was very good until I got to the center. I didn’t realize my new fridge works so much better than the old one. My roast never defrosted so Wednesday, my DH set up the hair dryer, blowing on low, on my saran wrap covered frozen roast. The roast came out great except for the center which was still raw as in tartar raw. A bit too much for most of my guests…
Katie, your table looks so festive and both the venison and turkey look delicious! We were invited to friends for a traditional roast turkey dinner followed by Xmas pud – the rain we’d had lowered the ambient temperature to a level suited to the meal. The meal, prepared by the husband, was cooked to perfection.
Your seasoning of the venison is going to be used for our barbecued (rain permitting) ostrich steaks on Old Year’s Night. This will be followed by home made ice cream using our own walnut liqueur and walnuts from France!
It looks as if you had a wonderful Christmas. Friends of mine are hunters and every year they deliver some venison to me – now I have a new way to cook it! Thanks
Yum! I just found out from the friends we are celebrating New Year’s Eve with that the main course will be venison in red wine — at least I think that’s what “daube de cerf” is. I’m looking forward to it. I know I tasted venison back in the USA but I’m not so sure I have here.
What a great idea to eat venison at the holidays. The locals should appreciate that more here in the USA. I’m admiring your nice tableplace (are those crackers??) but secretly spying on the rest of the room, as any real guest would do. The cabinetry and light from that window look very nice!
Great serviette folding – like origami !
nightsmusic, I can handle good beef that rare, but I know I’m in the minority…. We’re still eating turkey – which puts the per meal price very low 😉 I don’t do videos, but I could do step-by-step photos… It’s simple.
Gill, sounds like you had a lovely Christmas. Ostrich steaks, eh? Never had the opportunity. I hope your weather cooperates.
Jerry, lucky you. That’s how our friend in Spain gets his…. And the wild boar.
Betty, sounds like a lovely New Year’s dinner. I think the venison here is usually milder. Is this going to be a typical, very long French dinner? I’m jealous.
Dan, yes, those are crackers. Are neighbors are British so we had to have them. I’ll tell the hubs you appreciate his work.
Kate, thanks…. and the napkins really showed it off LOL
It will be somewhat long and typical, but we are just a foursome, so it won’t be as elaborate as some NYE dinners that I have been through (or suffered through…)
I love tartar so that rare for me was fine though others weren’t so enamored watching me eat it…
Photos of the folding would be much appreciated! 🙂