Sous vide medallions of venison

Vacuum sealed

Meat tenderiser with the ingredients

We got these venison medallions from V. J. Game - Sussex Smokers on their first visit to Hall Place Farmers' Market, Bexley, Kent.

I thought they might be nice, simply cooked sous vide in just salt, pepper, butter and a bay leaf.

From the experiments I have done when sous vide cooking, I've found if the temperature is kept relatively low the cooking period does not seem to be so important. In fact, I would say that the longer it is cooked, the more tender the meat. Rather like slow cooking, the extended cooking time helps to break down the collagens into a nice sauce.

Because the meat is vacuum sealed, the meat is never dry, even after 3 hours of cooking.

Compared to normal meat cooking when a rare steak can be bloody and not tender, even meat cooked sous vide to medium well done still has the moisture and mouthfeel of a rare steak, but without the blood. I'm going for 58.5°C for 3 hours.

Ingredients

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• 2 venison (deer) medallions - about 140 g each
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Stamp the medallions with a meat tenderiser if you have one.
2. Pat the medallions dry, dress with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper, add a knob of butter and a bay leaf and then vacuum seal.
3. Cook in a sous vide bath at 56.5°C (133.7°F) for 3 hours
4. Remove from the vacuum pouch, reserving the juices to add to the gravy. I used them to make a mushroom sauce.
5. Sear in a hot pan to finish, ideally with a blowtorch.
6. Serve immediately. (Unlike conventionally cooked meat, I've never found a benefit to resting meat cooked sous vide)

Chef's note

The medallions were moist and had a really tender mouthfeel, taste and texture almost like liver. Very nice.

I'm sure some cuts of venison may take a lot longer to cook, but these were selected cuts and very tender to start with.

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