Sous Vide Venison Loin with Hazelnut Coffee Maple Butter

Sous Vide Venison Loin with Hazelnut Coffee Maple Butter
Venison is a very lean meat yet high in moisture. In addition to already being lean, the fat of the Venison can ruin the flavor with an overly gamey taste. If cooking all the way to well done, the texture becomes mushy and quite unappetizing. The general consensus is quickly cook venison on high heat and leave it nice and pink in the middle. This is a highly problematic way to eat wild Venison, this is because of a nasty little parasite known as Trichinella. The USDA has tests and procedures to help protect consumers from known pathogens in Deer and many other game animals. (USDA, 2011) However, there is no way to ensure wild game is thoroughly tested. Trichinella can be found in wild game including Venison, Bear, and Boar to name a few, and I highly recommend using caution when cooking these meats.

There are two steps to follow when cooking wild Venison. First, you need to make sure the meat is frozen for at least 3 weeks before you consume. Secondly, According to the USDA if you cook to medium like I do, make sure to hold your meat for at least 12 minutes at 140°F once completely cooked through. (Myhrvold, 2011) The possible dangers of cooking wild game shows why cooking the tenderloin sous vide is an appropriate method to maintain perfect moisture, flavor, and achieve pasteurization.

I believe cooking Venison loin sous vide is a good idea, but you might be asking what exactly is sous vide and why is it tied in with the molecular gastronomy movement? to clarify sous vide is the technique of vacuum sealing a food and placing it in a temperature controlled water bath, it is the most accurate way to control the internal temperature of whatever is being cooked be it produce or protein. Chef Jason Wilson will demonstrate with this excellent sous vide video . There are several various sous vide machines on the market, I am a proponent of immersion circulators, due to their flexibility. For more Joy and Feast examples of sous vide and water bath cooking check out Onsen Tamago(Hot spring egg) and Sous Vide Lamb Chops with Pickled Garlic


Sous Vide Venison Loin w/ Hazelnut Coffee Maple Butter 



Sous Vide Venison Loin

Ingredients
  • 1 Venison Loin
  • 3 Garlic cloves
  • Healthy coating of Kosher salt
  • Healthy coating of Ground black pepper
  • 1 T Cumin seed
  • Butter or fat of choice
Cooking Directions
  1. Preheat immersion circulator, Sous Vide machine, or other Sous Vide set up to reach 140°F.
  2. Take your Loin and generously cover with Salt, Pepper, and Cumin Seed. Thinly slice cloves of garlic and place on the loin.
  3. Place in bag and vacuum seal or remove the air via the water displacement method as demonstrated in the ChefSteps video.
  4. Place the bag in your water bath and set a timer for 2 hours. The time you need to cook the loin depends on its thickness. The Sousvide Supreme Cooking Guide is a handy quick reference for consulting cook times.
  5. After the timer goes off, take the loin out of the bag, and pat dry with a paper towel.
  6. Heat up your cast iron (or any pan) until it has an opportunity to get nice and hot, then add the fat of your choice, a medium-high heat fat is always a good idea, but butter can be used if you are cautious.
  7. Sear all the edges of the venison loin for about 30 seconds a side until golden brown. Times will vary depending on heat of cooking fat.
  8. Season with salt and pepper, and slice into medallions

Hazelnut Coffee Maple Compound Butter

Ingredients
  • 1/4 c Unsalted butter
  • 1 & 1/2 T Cool hazelnut coffee
  • 1 T Maple syrup
Cooking Directions
  1. Pour cool Hazelnut coffee (you can substitute plain coffee), Maple Syrup, and diced Butter into a small food processor. Blend until thoroughly mixed.
  2. With a rubber spatula scrape out butter mixture onto wax paper, roll into a cylinder and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour or longer.
  3. Remove from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Slice when serving.
Total Time: 2 hours 15 min

Citations and Further Readings:
  • "Game from Farm to Table." http://www.fsis.usda.gov. USDA, May 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
  • Hoffman, L. C., and Eva Wiklund. "Game and venison–meat for the modern consumer." Meat Science 74.1 (2006): 197-208.
  • Kimball, Yeffe, and Jean Anderson. The art of American Indian cooking. Globe Pequot, 2000.
  • Myhrvold, Nathan. Modernist cuisine. Taschen, 2011. Vol 1. 120-122

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