Cooking a perfect Pavé of Venison
Serves 4
This is one of the best ways to cook a Pavé (steak). Quickly searing the Venison in the pan forms a tasty crust on the outside of the meat and seals in the juices. Finishing the cooking in the oven ensures even cooking throughout.
Once cooked, transfer the steaks to a warm plate to relax the fibres and redistribute the juices throughout the Venison, giving it an even colour. You must remove the Venison from the hot pan to ensure that it doesn't go on cooking and become tough.
four 150g Pavé (steaks) of Venison
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
Heat an ovenproof heavy frying pan until smoking hot. Rub the Venison with a little olive oil, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Put the Venison into the hot frying pan, turn the heat down to medium, and sear for 2 - 3 minutes (do not be tempted to move it around or the outside crust will be spoiled).
Turn over and sear on the other side for 2 - 3 minutes. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 6 minutes RARE or 8 minutes MEDIUM RARE.
When cooked, remove the Venison from the oven, transfer onto a warm plate, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.To make a sauce, add a good splash of red wine to the empty frying pan, bring to the boil, scraping up the sticky sediment from the bottom of the pan, and boil until reduced and syrupy. Taste and season.
Serve the Pavés drizzled with a little olive oil, a huge mixed salad, and some boiled new potatoes or vegetable crisps.