Here’s a complete dish for a winter’s evening. Spaetzle is a great accompaniment for any game, but I love it with venison. A German dumpling that’s tossed in butter with silver beet will satisfy anyone in cold weather.
This is an edited extract from Wild Meat by Ross O’Meara published by Hardie Grant Books
Here’s a complete dish for a winter’s evening. Spaetzle is a great accompaniment for any game, but I love it with venison. A German dumpling that’s tossed in butter with silver beet will satisfy anyone in cold weather.
Whole grilled venison topside With spaetzle, silverbeet & mustard gravy
SERVES 6
1 venison topside
oil, for cooking
100 g (3½ oz) butter
2 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour
100 ml (3½ fl oz) Game stock (page 210)
2 tablespoons Mustard (page 200)
1 tablespoon chopped chives
3 French shallots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bunch of silverbeet (Swiss chard washed and shredded)
Spaetzle
375 g (13 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
a pinch of salt
a pinch of ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 free-range eggs
195 ml (6½ fl oz) milk
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
Method
To make the spaetzle, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs well, then add the milk and stir into the flour mixture until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.
Bring 1 litre (34 fl oz/4 cups) water to the boil with a good pinch of salt. Once boiling, press the spaetzle dough through a large-holed sieve or potato ricer, into the water. Once the dumplings float, which should take around 2 minutes, remove them with a slotted spoon and cool the dumplings down in an ice bath.
I like to fully cook my venison topside on a charcoal barbecue, but this does take a long time and it’s not that easy until you know how to do it. For this recipe, season and oil the venison in a roasting tin and place the roasting tin under your hot grill (broiler). Grill on each side for 5 minutes, or until you get good colour, and don’t be shy with the salt and pepper.
Place the roasting tin in the oven and cook the venison for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven, wrap the venison in foil and leave to rest for 7 minutes. This should be enough to cook the venison on the medium–rare to medium side.
Put the venison on your carving board. Place the roasting tin back over a medium heat with half the butter in. Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour and let it cook out for 1 minute, then stir in the stock and bring to the boil. Once boiling, stir in the mustard. Check the seasoning, fold the chives through and remove the gravy from the heat.
Get a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat. Add the remaining butter and sauté the shallot and garlic for 1 minute. Toss in the spaetzle and continue to sauté until the spaetzle takes on a golden brown colour.
Toss the silverbeet in and cook for a couple of minutes, keeping it moving in the pan. Once the silverbeet has broken down, check the seasoning and spoon onto a serving platter.
Slice the venison and arrange on the serving platter. Drizzle with the mustard gravy, reserving any remaining gravy on the side.
Get in contact to book your wild meat game course. These courses are tailor made for each person or party.
You might also be interested in reading the article Oh Deer, from Pest to Plate here
