2 lbs venison steak (cut into bite-sized pieces)

3 shallots minced

2 cloves of garlic minced

8 oz of baby portabella or button mushrooms (diced or quartered)

1 T of WildCheff Upland Game Blend

Unbleached all-purpose flour

2 T of butter

1 T of olive oil

½ C Sweet Marsala wine

¼ C heavy cream (optional)

Directions

In large sauté pan, heat up olive oil and butter over medium high heat. Apply olive oil to outside of steaks and season on both sides with WildCheff Upland Game blend. Dredge steak pieces in flour and shake off excess flour. Gently place steak pieces into pan and lower to medium heat. Cook just beyond medium rare stage so that meat is just approaching pink color internally. Remove from pan and set aside on plate.

Add shallots and mushrooms to pan (add pat of butter if needed) and sauté them by stirring frequently with wooded spoon until mushrooms are ½ cooked. Add garlic to pan and cook for 1 minute longer.

There are two options for making your Marsala sauce.
Option 1

When mushrooms are done sprinkle ½ tsp of flour over them and stir for one minute. Remove pan from stove and pour Marsala wine into pan, then return it to stove. Cook until sauce thickens and gets bubbly. Place venison in sauce and shut off stovetop.
Option 2

When mushrooms are done add cream to pan and cook until cream starts to thicken and get bubbly (2-4 minutes). Add venison to sauce and shut off burner on stove.

Can be served by tossing with cooked penne pasta, or with side dishes such as sautéed asparagus tips, sweet potato croquettes, potato gratin or maple baked acorn squash.

Cooking notes: You will notice that in my recipes I mention just beyond medium rare stage so that your venison reaches a pink color internally. Due to so many variables like thickness of your venison, as well as type – whether it is deer, moose, caribou, elk, antelope, buffalo, etc it is best to describe to you what you should be watching for as they all have similarities, but are unique as well when you cook them.

Whereas I have been a chef for 25+ years, I know the feel of the meat as it approaches various stages, but my intent is to make it easy for you to prepare my recipes. There is nothing wrong with putting a small slice into a steak to check for doneness. I have never experienced seeing the steaks get dry or all the juices lost doing this. Cooking experience comes with time and the easier it is the more you will want to try the next recipe.