from Chef Sarah Grueneberg of Spiaggia – Chicago, IL
Yield: 6 Servings
Preserved Porcini:
1 pound fresh porcini mushrooms
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 ounce thyme leaves
1 ounce rosemary, chopped
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Venison Sausage: (Yield: 5 pounds):
3 pounds venison meat, silver skin removed and cut into cubes
1 pound pork butt, cubed
1 pound fatback, cubed
1 ounce kosher salt
1/2 ounce fennel seed
1/2 ounce sugar
1/2 ounce allspice
1/4 ounce pink salt
1/2 ounce juniper berries
1/2 ounce garlic cloves
1/2 ounce rosemary leaves
8 ounce cold venison stock
Venison Sausage-wrapped Venison Loin:
6 4-ounce portions venison loin, silver skin removed
Caul fat
Parchment paper
Butcher’s twine
2 ounces canola oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
For the Preserved Porcini:
In a large cast iron pan, heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.
Add the mushrooms, searing on all sides until golden brown. Season with sea salt.
Transfer the mushrooms to a medium mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice to the mushrooms and reserve. Add 4 more tablespoons of olive oil to the cast iron pan and return to medium heat. Add the thyme and rosemary and the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Transfer the mixture to the mushrooms and combine. Season the mushrooms. Put the mushrooms in a jar and cover with more extra virgin olive oil. Keep the jar refrigerated for at least 2 days before serving.
For the Venison Sausage:
To keep the sausage cold, ice down the grinder attachments in a large bowl. Inset 1 large mixing bowl with ice. Also ice down the bowl for your mixer. Mix the meat and all the spices in the large bowl over the ice. Grind the meat with a medium die into the chilled mixer bowl. Once ground, set the mixer with the paddle attachment. Over medium speed, mix the sausage to thoroughly emulsify the fat into the meat. Slowly add the cold stock into the mixer bowl. Mix for 1 minute. Cook a sample for seasoning. Keep sausage cold until ready to use.
For the Venison Sausage-wrapped Venison Loin:
Using parchment paper, pat down 1 4-ounce piece of sausage into a 1/2-inch x 1-inch rectangle. Put the 4-ounce piece of venison loin in the middle of the sausage rectangle (leaving 1 inch lengthwise on the sausage rectangle). Using the paper, tightly roll the sausage around the venison loin. Wrap caul fat around the finished rolled venison piece. Tie each portion of finished sausage with butcher’s twine and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400F. In a large cast iron skillet, heat canola oil to medium high heat. Season the sausage with kosher salt and black pepper. Sear on all sides. Make sure that the pan does not get too hot, as the parcels will burst. Roast in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 125F. Lightly cover the venison with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
To Assemble and Serve:
Remove the Preserved Porcini from the jar and drain. Slice the Venison Sausage-wrapped Venison Loin into 3 or 4 medallions. Serve the Venison Sausage-wrapped Venison Loin with the Preserved Porcini