Venison really does go well with cranberry sauce; especially venison rump, leg and t-bone steaks when cooked on a Bar-B-Q. I find that grilling, hot plate cooking and naked flame cooking all contribute their own unique flavors to the dish.

The biggest secret in cooking any cut of venison is to find that gastronomical fine line between overcooked and underdone (raw as opposed to rare). You will find that the most significant elements in determining the length of time for which each venison steak fillet needs to be cooked will be the thickness of the meat and to a lesser extent the heat source i.e. whether or not naked flames are used in the cooking process.

Ingredients

• 4 Venison Steaks (approximately 7 ounces each). If using venison leg steaks ensure that they are boneless as the presence of large diameter bones can dramatically influence the cooking time required.
• 12 Ounces of Picked Over Cranberries
• 2 Cups Chicken Broth
• 1 Cup of Shallots (approximately 9) you can however substitute onions in place of the shallots
• ½ Cup of Granulated Sugar (the finer the better)
• 3 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon each of Vegetable Oil, Unsalted Butter
• 4 Orange Rind Strips (2 x ½-inch each)
• 3 Whole Cloves
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• ½ of a Vanilla Bean

Preparation

1. Finely mince the 2 garlic cloves
2. Dice the shallots (or onions if you are using them instead of the shallots)
3. Split the vanilla bean length-wise

Cooking the Sauce

1. Use a large skillet over low heat to melt the butter. If using the Bar-B-Q to do all of the cooking then a large cast iron fry pan is probably a more efficient and realistically practical option.
2. Now add the shallots and garlic stirring as you go. Cook until softened (approximately 6½ to 7½ minutes) remembering to stir all the while.
3. Add the vinegar and reduce. Generally this means to cook until all or the vast majority of the liquid has evaporated which in the context of the recipe is approximately 3 minutes or so. The type of vinegar used does have some influence here.
4. The time has now come to add in the cranberries, sugar, orange rind, vanilla bean and cloves. Don’t forget to keep stirring as you do so.
5. Once all of the ingredients have been combined you must increase the cooking heat to medium. Continue cooking and stirring for another 5 minutes or so until the sugar melts and the berries begin to pop.
6. The next step is to add the chicken broth and let it gently simmer for around 10 minutes while continuing to stir sporadically
7. Strain the sauce mix using a fine-meshed sieve over a bowl large enough to hold the entire sauce mix
8. Press on the solids to extract as much of the sauce juices as possible
9. Once done the remaining solids can be discarded. I usually dump them on the compost heap.

Cooking the Venison

1. Using a large skillet heat the oil over a high heat setting
2. When the oil is ready add the venison and cook for around 3 minutes per side until the outside has browned for rare and longer if desiring medium or well done
3. Once this is done remove the venison from the skillet and place onto warm serving plates. It is very important that you keep the venison and serving plates warm.

Finish Cooking Sauce

1. Pour off fat from skillet. Obviously you may not need to this if you have cooked your venison over a naked flame Bar-B-Q grill.
2. Add the sauce mix and cook for another 2 minutes over a heat

Serving

1. Pour sauce over venison
2. Add selection of vegetables or salad and serve
3. Serves 4
4. A dollop of sour cream goes down very well here