Venison Carpaccio

Again on the Rakiura theme we were privileged to enjoy Venison while in the South. US president Theodore Roosevelt gifted to Aotearoa in the early 1900’s two small herds of Odocoileus Virginianaus or as we know them Whitetail deer. What a top bloke! Whitetail with their good eyesight and hearing are sneaky so one must be patient and fit. As a result of our teams patience and fitness attributes, (reading between the lines that was not me) Bambi made it to our table. I adore the simplicity, taste and texture of a good Venison Carpaccio so see below for our version.

Take 2 Backstraps/Striploins and remove any fat, sinew, silver skin, and brush with Avocado oil and then season well with salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy pan to VFH (Very Flaming Hot) then carefully brown off all sides of the Venison. This should take about 10 seconds per side. Remove from the pan and let cool. Once cool enough to handle with bare fingers easily wrap the loins tightly in cling film and put into the freezer for 40-60 minutes. This will allow the meat to firm up and make it easier to slice wafer thin.

[40 minutes later]

Remove Venison from freezer and remove cling film and with a very sharp knife cut the thinnest slices you can without making it look like chopped liver.

Lay the slices/slivers out onto your serving plate and from there you can flavour with your favourite toppings. I like both the sweet and savory options, Sweet being topped with Balsamic glaze, shaved parmesan, blackberries, virgin olive oil, and, as per the picture….Savory being a dressing made with blackbean sauce sautéed off with a good chilli pickle, cooled and add apple cider vinegar and olive oil. A quick shake to mix then drizzled lightly across the Bambi then topped off with fried shallots, fresh chives or spring onions and a few roasted pine nuts.