The trick to this dinner was to produce a sauce and a crust that could be reused tomorrow night for a crusted tenderloin of veal. Two good eaters will enjoy this meal. It's a variation of my recipe for Rack of Venison Stuffed with Sausage and Apples.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
The Two Night Sauce
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ onion roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1-½ cup tawny port
- 1-½ cup red wine
- 1 cup veal or chicken stock
- 1 package D’Artagnan duck and veal demi-glace
- 1 bay leaf
- 12 whole black peppercorns
- ¼ cup dried currants
- ¼ cup dried cherries
Plus:
- ¼ cup dried currants
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Heat a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and reduce heat to medium. Add onion, carrots, and garlic. Season with salt. Saute the veggies until they brown slightly (do not let them burn). Add port, wine, stock, and demi-glace. Raise heat to high until liquid comes to a boil, reduce heat to maintain a steady high simmer. Skim off any scum that forms. Add bay leaf, peppercorns, currants, and cherries. Reduce by about half. Strain the liquid through a chinois into a 2 or 4 cup measuring cup. You should have between 1-½ and 2 cups of liquid. Divide in half, reserving half the sauce for tomorrow night's veal dinner.
Transfer half the sauce to a small sauce pan. Bring to a low simmer and allow to reduce by about 20%. Add second batch of dried currants. Turn heat to lowest setting and keep warm. Just before serving add butter and swirl until melted.
The Two Night Crust
- ½ cup roasted and shelled pistachios
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ dried Italian herbs
Combine all ingredients in your Cuisinart mini-prep food processor and process to coarse crumbs. Divide in half, reserving half for tomorrow night's veal.
The Stuffing
- ½ teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ medium onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon Paul Prudhomme poultry seasoning
- 1 Italian sausage removed from the casing and broken into small pieces
- 4 dried pear halves, diced
- ¼ cup dried currants
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add onions and seasoning. Reduce heat and sweat onions until they soften and start to become translucent, about 8 minutes. Add sausage, breaking the sausage pieces up as they cook. Saute until the sausage browns, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions and sausage to a bowl. Allow to cool briefly. Add remaining ingredients and mix with your hands.
The Rack of Venison
- 1 4-bone rack of venison, bones frenched, meat trimmed of any silverskin
- 1 teaspoon Paul Prudhomme poultry seasoning
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Using a long thin knife held horizontally, make a cut through the center of the venison lengthwise. Spin the knife to expand the cut. Insert the handle of a long wooden spoon and spin to create a cavity that's about 2 inches wide. Fill with stuffing. You'll probably have some stuffing left over. If so, saute it until warm as a treat for the chef.
Season the exterior of the rack of venison. Heat a nonstick skillet over high heat. Sear rack on all sides until well browned. Remove to a cutting board, slather with mustard, and dredge in the crust crumbs.
Put venison on a roasting rack set in a medium roasting rack. Put in oven and roast about 25 minutes or until an instant read meat thermometer registers 135 degrees for medium rare.
Allow the rack to rest for 10 minutes and then carve between bones into 4 pieces.
To serve, put a bit of sauce on lower half of plate. Rest 2 chops on top of sauce on each plate. Nap a bit more sauce on top of chops. Serve with mashed potatoes and baby peas. Pour a California Rhone Ranger red wine.
