Venison Roast with Mushroom Bread Dumplings and Cherry Sauce

Ingredients

• 600 g venison cutlet (ready-to-cook, boneless)
• Salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 20 g clarified butter
• 1 Carrot
• 0.25 celery root
• 1 vegetable onion
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 200 ml dry red wine
• 400 ml game stock
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 0.5 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves Allspice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small glass sweet cherries (ca. 380 g)
• 300 g dumpling bread
• 100 ml milk
• 150 g fresh porcini mushrooms
• 1 Shallot
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• 30 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• semolina breadcrumbs (if needed)
• butter (for the molds)
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• 4 sprigs thyme

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash and pat dry the meat, season with salt and pepper, then sear it in a pan with melted clarified butter on all sides. Remove, let drain on kitchen paper, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 200°C (Oven + fan).

2. 2.

   Peel and cube the vegetables. Sauté them in the venison pan for 3-5 minutes while turning, add tomato paste, allow it to brown slightly, then deglaze with red wine. Pour in the game stock, add herbs and spices, season with salt and pepper, and simmer on medium heat for 20-25 minutes.

3. 3.

   Drain the cherries through a sieve, let them dry well, and reserve the juice. For the dumplings, place the dumpling bread in a large bowl. Boil the milk and pour it over the bread; let sit for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, clean and cube the mushrooms, finely dice the shallot, then sauté them together in hot butter for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in parsley, and add to the bread mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and season with salt and pepper.

4. 4.

   Beat the egg into the mixture and knead everything by hand until well combined. If needed, add a little more breadcrumbs. Fill four greased, oven-safe molds with the dumpling dough and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Place the venison in the oven 8 minutes before the dumplings finish cooking to keep it pink inside. While the sauce simmers, strain it into a new pot, squeeze out excess vegetable liquid, and bring back to a boil. Add 2-3 tbsp of cherry juice, then thicken with cornstarch mixed in cold water. Stir in cherries, season with salt and pepper. Carefully remove the dumplings from the molds, slice the venison into medallions, and serve together with sauce on warmed plates, garnished with fresh thyme.