Venison Wellington
This classic dinner party dish is just perfect for a special occasion and has been adapted from the delicious Venison Wellington recipe on the BBC Good Food website - see here for their full version of the recipe.
Method:
- Pat the venison dry with some kitchen towels and season. Heat the oil in the frying pan and sear the meat all over. Remove and brush with the mustard and then leave to cool. Once cool, chill in the fridge for around 20 minutes - keep any of the juices for gravy later.
- Melt the butter in the pan and then add the garlic and shallots. Once they have softened add the mushrooms, herbs and seasoning and cook for around 10 minutes or until you have a paste-like mixture. Add the brandy now and cook until all the alcohol has evaporated. Then leave the mixture to cool.
- Overlap 2-3 sheets of cling film on a clean surface and lay the prosciutto in 2 rows, slightly overlapping each slice. Spread the cooled mushroom paste all over the prosciutto in a thin, even layer. Then place the cooled venison in the centre and using the edge of the cling film carefully roll the prosciutto and mushroom over and around the meat. Roll into a sausage shape twisting the ends of the cling film to form a tight log. Chill again for a further 30 minutes to firm up.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry to a rectangle a little larger than a magazine and trim the edges to neaten, then carefully unwrap the venison, prosciutto and mushroom parcel and lay in the middle of the pastry.
- Fold over the bottom half of the pastry and lightly brush the rest with the beaten egg and then roll the whole thing around the meat and fold in the shorter edges to make a parcel. Then use your hands to smooth the pastry around the meat and to push out any trapped air. Brush the parcel with beaten egg and then chill again for another 30 minutes or up to 24 hrs.
- Heat the over to 220c/200c. Mark the pastry carefully on the top. Lightly oil a baking try and heat until hot. Put the venison wellington on the tray and bake for 30mins (35 for more well done). Remove from the oven, brush with extra egg and rest for 20 mins before serving.
