BLESBUCK STEAKS

Thanks to Daily Maverick for this delicious Blesbuck steak recipe with Hunters’ sauce!

We like to simply braai our Blesbuck and you can marinade it beforehand (https://lowveldgamemeat.com/index.php/2022/03/26/steak-marinade-vs-brine/) if you like.

Or, as in this recipe below, cook it in butter in a very hot pan until medium – it must still be pink when you eat it! Add the delicious sauce if you have time – it’s worth the preparation!

For the sauce and steaks:

Ingredients

2 x 300 g venison fillets (or beef)

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 carrots, diced finely

2 celery stalks, chopped thinly

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup (250 ml) dry red wine (try to use a good quality one, this sauce is worth it)

2 bay leaves

Picked leaves of 2 thyme sprigs

1 litre of game stock (if you don’t make your own and cannot find any, a good quality beef stock will suffice)

Salt to taste

Several grindings of freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp plain flour

1 Tbsp cranberry jelly

3 Tbsp cream

250 g button mushrooms, sliced

More thyme leaves, picked from 3 sprigs, for the mushrooms

Method

Sauté the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in olive oil. Add the red wine, season with salt and pepper to taste, and reduce the liquid by half.

Add the bay leaves, thyme and game stock. Reduce until you have 250 ml (1 cup) of liquid left. Strain into a bowl through a fine sieve, then return it to the pot. Season with black pepper and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes on a low heat.

Mix melted butter and flour in a small bowl and stir or whisk it into the sauce while it simmers, stirring. Stir in the cranberry jelly and then the cream, and simmer gently for two or three minutes more. Adjust the seasoning if necessary after tasting it. Keep it warm.

Cook sliced mushrooms down in butter with picked thyme leaves and, when they release their juices, season with salt and pepper and cook the juices away. 

Fry the steaks in butter until rare or medium rare, as per your preference. 

Serve the mushrooms alongside the venison steaks with the sauce napped on the other side. Please be generous with the quantity of sauce on the plate (as in the picture). You don’t go to this amount of trouble to have a mere couple of tablespoonsful of it.

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