Venison Tenderloin with Pretzel Dumplings

Ingredients

• 700 g venison tenderloin
• 3 tbsp butter
• 400 ml game stock
• 100 ml dry red wine
• 2 sprigs Rosemary
• 4 juniper berries
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp currant jam
• Salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 8 old-fashioned pretzels
• 300 ml hot milk
• 35 g parsley
• 1 small onion
• 20 g butter
• 3 eggs
• Salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 30 g semolina (as needed)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 100°C (200°F) with upper and lower heat.

2. 2.

   Cut the venison tenderloin into four portions. Season with salt and pepper, then sear each side briefly in 1 tbsp hot butter. Remove and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until pink inside.

3. 3.

   Deglaze the pan with game stock and red wine. Add rosemary, bay leaf, and juniper berries; reduce to about one-third of the liquid. Strain through a sieve and season with currant jam, salt, and pepper.

4. 4.

   For the pretzel dumplings, cut the pretzels into small pieces, pour hot milk over them, and let sit for half an hour. Wash and dry the parsley, strip leaves from stems, and finely chop. Peel and dice the onion very finely. Melt butter in a small pan and sauté the onion until translucent. Remove from heat, stir in parsley, then add eggs to the pretzel mixture. Knead the dumpling dough well, seasoning with salt and pepper. If the dough is too wet, fold in semolina as needed. Shape six dumplings from the dough and drop them into boiling salted water; simmer gently for 15–20 minutes until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain, and place in a hot bowl.

5. 5.

   Remove the meat from the pan, let rest briefly, then slice. Slice the pretzel dumplings if desired. Arrange the sliced venison and dumplings on plates, drizzle with sauce, and optionally serve with blanched vegetables or a fresh salad.