Vension Stroganoff With Spatzle Recipes

VENSION STROGANOFF WITH SPATZLE

Steps:

• I make the spaetzle first. These can be made up to a day ahead and stored in the fridge. Mix all the ingredients except the heavy cream together in a bowl. Now thin the sticky dough into a batter that is a bit like really thick pancake batter with the heavy cream. I use a Spaetzle Maker to make my spaetzle, but you can either use a colander with wide holes or just flick the dough/batter off a cutting board with a knife.
• Get a kettle of salty water going over high heat. Once it boils, make the spaetzle. Boil them hard until they float, then 1 minute more. Skim off with a slotted spoon or a spider skimmer. Move them to a baking sheet. When they are all made, toss them with a little oil so they don't stick together.
• To make the stroganoff, salt the venison well and let it sit on the cutting board for 20 minutes or so. I do this while I make the spaetzle. Get 2 tablespoons butter in a large saute pan good and hot over medium-high heat. Pat the venison dry and sear all sides well in the butter. Cook it until it's rare to medium-rare. If you don't know how to determine this, use the finger test for doneness. When the meat is ready. move it to a cutting board and let it rest.
• Add the mushrooms to the pan and turn the heat to high. Soon they will give up their water, and when they do, use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When most of the water has boiled away, add the rest of the butter to the pan along with the shallots and saute everything for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic, toss and cook over high heat for another 3 minutes or so. Sprinkle some salt over everything.
• Add the Madeira and toss to combine. Let this boil down furiously. While it is doing so, grate some nutmeg over the mixture. When the Madeira is mostly gone, turn the heat down to low. Slice the venison thinly and return it and any juices that have collected on the cutting board to the pan. Stir to combine and add most of the chopped fresh dill.
• Stir in the sour cream and turn off the heat. Stir to combine and let it heat through from the heat in the pan. Do not let this boil, or even simmer, or Very Bad Things will happen. Think nasty curdled crap. To serve, spread out over the spaetzle and top with any remaining dill and the dill pollen, if using.

BEEF STROGANOFF WITH PEPPERED SPAETZLE

Steps:

• Make the shallot marmalade:
• In a medium, deep sauté pan over moderate heat, melt the butter. Add the shallot rings and sauté until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the sugar and vinegar and continue cooking until amber in color and thickened to the consistency of molasses, about 20 minutes. DO AHEAD: The shallots can be made in advance and refrigerated, in an airtight container, up to 3 days.
• Make the peppered spaetzle:
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and keep at a bare simmer. Fill a large bowl with very cold ice water.
• In a second large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and pepper.
• In a blender, combine the eggs, sour cream, and 1 cup water. Purée until smooth then add to the flour mixture and stir to combine (the consistency should be a little thicker than pancake batter, so adjust with more flour or more water as needed).
• Working over barely simmering water, force half the batter through a spaetzlemaker, food mill, or colander. Let the spaetzle float to the surface-this will take about 1 minute-wait 30 seconds, then use a mesh skimmer or slotted spoon and transfer the spaetzle to the bowl of ice water. Once cool, transfer the spaetzle to a colander to drain. Repeat with the remaining batter. DO AHEAD: Spaetzle can be made in advance and refrigerated, in an airtight container, up to 2 days.
• Make the peppered crème fraîche:
• In a small bowl, stir together the crème fraîche and pepper. The crème fraîche should have an intense pepper note, so add more pepper to taste if necessary. DO AHEAD: The crème fraîche can be made in advance and refrigerated, in an airtight container, up to 1 day.
• Make the black trumpet purée:
• In a large sauté pan over moderately high heat, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add 1/2 the mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 the garlic, shallots, and thyme and continue sautéing until the shallots are tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of vinegar and continue cooking until the vinegar is almost completely evaporated, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl and repeat with the remaining olive oil, mushrooms, garlic, shallots, thyme, and vinegar. Once all the mushrooms are sautéed, reserve about 1/2 cup. Transfer the remaining mushrooms to a blender, add the beef stock, and purée until smooth. With the blender on, slowly add the grapeseed oil and truffle oil, if using, and continue processing until the sauce is smooth, aerated, and emulsified, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and a splash of vinegar if necessary.
• Cook the beef:
• Season the steaks with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet over moderately high heat, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Cook the steaks to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board as done and tent with foil. Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
• To serve:
• In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the mushroom purée. When warm, transfer to a gravy boat or other serving dish.
• In a large sauté pan over moderately high heat, melt the butter. Add 1/2 of the spaetzle and sauté without stirring until golden brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining spaetzle, the reserved 1/2 cup of mushrooms, and the shallot marmalade and sauté until warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving dish.
• Thinly slice the steaks and arrange the meat on a small platter. Dollop the crème fraîche over the meat and sprinkle with the dill. Serve immediately.

VENISON STROGANOFF

Steps:

• Season venison with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Saute onion in a large skillet; when soft, add venison and brown. Drain when venison is no longer pink and add soup. Reduce heat to low and simmer.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• When noodles are almost done cooking, stir sour cream into meat mixture. Pour meat mixture over hot cooked noodles and serve.

FROM-SCRATCH VENISON STROGANOFF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Toss venison cubes with flour to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil to smoking in a large skillet. Add venison, and cook until well browned, then remove and set aside. Pour in remaining 1 tablespoon of canola oil; when hot, add mushrooms and cook until softened then stir in onion and cook until softened.
• Stir in the reserved venison, then add tomato sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour into a casserole dish, cover, and bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in sour cream and continue cooking until venison is tender, about 30 minutes longer.