Mediterranean Venison Wellington Recipe, wrapped in puff pastry, with a wine reduction, mushroom pate tucked between the venison tenderloin and pastry.
Let’s Wow Guests At Your Next Dinner Party!
This venison Wellington recipe, with mushroom duxelles, just a fancy way of saying a mushroom pate, is an easy show-stopping recipe for a dinner party!
My Brit hubby tells me that this is an iconic British dish, often served with black pudding.
So, how about we give this recipe a try at our next dinner party, but perhaps leave off the black pudding!
Classic Beef Wellington
Yes, a classic, traditional Beef Wellington was my first introduction to the concept of a beautiful tenderloin of meat, wrapped in a crispy puff pastry.
I have never been a big fan of filet mignon, simply because, while beautifully tender, it has little to no fat, therefore I think it has little flavor.
However, after taking a Master Class course with Gordon Ramsay, and learning the delicious way in which he prepares a beef Wellington, I knew I had to try it with venison.
Pros and Cons With Beef Wellington
What’s not to love about a gorgeous, classic beef Wellington! My first time to make it, was for a family Christmas dinner.
I pulled out all the stops, making it with herb crepes, a pate made with portobello mushrooms and all that Gordon Ramsay suggested, including the time to cook it.
Unfortunately, the meat was way underdone and needed to go back into the oven, while all the sides were ready.
Beef Wellington vs Venison Wellington
I found the best way to gauge the cooking time was with a meat thermometer.
The second time I made beef Wellington, I portioned the center cut of a beef tenderloin, and made into individual portions.
Having used all the same methods as the large Wellington, it turned out great.
So much more manageable.
Kid Friendly Wellington
I even experimented with making ‘kid friendly’ individual portions!
The good news about a venison Wellington vs the beef, is the size.
It is so much easier to calculate the cooking time on a beautiful cut of venison, and the taste is amazing!
Pate
While goose, duck or chicken liver pate is what is often used to cover the meat of a Wellington, I just felt it was too many conflicting flavors.
Chicken liver pate, to me, has a strong flavor, as does faux gras (which, I’m sorry, I just don’t like), and so I opted for mushroom pate.
Mushrooms In Wellington
Who doesn’t love the earthy flavor of mushrooms with meat anyway!
Homemade mushroom pate is so easy to make, you will wonder why you don’t make it often for a variety of other dishes.
Easy Mushroom Pate
A huge, like really huge, heap of mushrooms gets tossed into a large skillet, with a little butter, garlic, a drizzle of wine and fresh herbs.
This step is then simmered down and pureed! That’s it.
Don’t forget to store leftovers aside (freeze if need be), to toss into many of your winter soups, particularly a soup from homemade bone broth, for winter’s immune boost.
Yes, Venison Is Deer Meat
I still don’t understand why we Americans still have an issue eating venison or rabbit, well, many still do.
Thanks a lot Disney!
Both venison and rabbit are widely used in the UK and many of the British Chefs have shared with us, fabulous recipes for these healthier meats, both high in protein and low in fat.
Healthy Venison – Yes Americans, Venison!
The truth is, if you are a meat eater, venison is a high quality source of protein and lower in saturated fats than any other red meat.
I’ve heard folks say, ‘I don’t know how to give it flavor, since it is such a lean meat’.
Therefore, this healthy cut of meat is often overlooked.
Flavor Enhanced Venison
Just as you would treat any lean cut of meat, such as rabbit or chicken breast, or lean type of fish, such as tilapia, cod, flounder, or sole, simply add different types of fat.
For this venison recipe, I chose to stick with olive oil, butter and cream as my fats.
Although any type of liver pate or bacon would add more fat inside of the pastry.
Fresh Herbs Add Flavor To Venison
Let’s not forget about the importance of using fresh herbs and smoked spices, and of course garlic.
The smokey, yet sweet and hot flavor of Aleppo pepper is one of my favorite flavor enhancers in a variety of my recipes.
What To Serve With Venison Wellington
We all have our favorite sides to serve with a festive favorite meal.
When serving beef Wellington during the Christmas season, I often stick with Fancy Fondant Potatoes and individual Green Bean Bundles.
Both of these festive sides would be delicious with venison Wellington.
Inspiration Behind The Side Dishes To Serve With Venison
However, being the whimsical cook that I am, I was reminded, while preparing the venison, of how I work hard to keep the deer out of my vegetable garden.
And so I chose to serve my Garden Inspired Carrot Risotto and Brussels Sprouts with Onion Jam Sliders.
Deer In My Garden?
The carrot risotto looks like a carrot on the plate, with the carrot tops.
Those carrot tops I work so hard to keep the deer away from!
Last but not least, since venison is more widely enjoyed in the UK, why not serve a little English mustard on the side!
Equipment Needed
- Large saute pan
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Tongs
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Meat thermometer
- Basting brush
- Metal spatula
- Stovetop or burner
- Oven
Ingredients Needed
- Venison tenderloin
- Milk
- Aleppo pepper
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Thyme
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Mushrooms
- Red wine
- Four
- Cream
- Dijon mustard
- Puff pastry
- Egg wash
Mediterranean Venison Wellington Recipe ( with video)
Mediterranean Venison Wellington, wrapped in puff pastry, with a wine reduction, mushroom pate tucked between the venison tenderloin and pastry.
Equipment
- Saute pan
- Rolling Pin
- Basting brush
- Meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs Venison tenderloin
- 1 cup Milk
- 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 tsp Salt
- Fresh thyme – several sprigs
- 4 Garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 1 lb Mushrooms
- 1 cup Red wine
- 1 tbsp Flour
- 1/4 cup Cream
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 sheet Puff pastry
- 1 Egg whisked as egg wash
Instructions
- Blot excess blood from the tenderloin with paper towels, place in an airtight container, pour milk over the meat, sprinkle Aleppo pepper and salt, thyme sprigs and garlic cover and allow to sit room temperature for 30-minutes.
- Place a skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter, sear all sides of the tenderloin, reserving the milk it has marinated in. Remove the seared tenderloin from the skillet to rest.
- In the same pan, add remaining butter and chopped mushrooms, toss to coat, add red wine and cook just until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon, into the food processor to puree into a pate.
- In the same pan, on lowered heat, whisk in the flour, add the reserved milk, mashing any firm garlic cloves remaining in the milk. Whisk in the cream and set this gravy aside to rewarm when serving the Wellington.
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Roll out the puff pastry sheet. Place the tenderloin in the center. Brush a thin layer of Dijon mustard, layer the mushroom pate evenly and begin to wrap the pastry tightly around the meat, trimming off any excess pastry.
- Brush the egg wash over the pastry, place a thyme sprig on top and place in the oven.
- Cook times will vary, depending on the size of the tenderloin. After about 25-minutes, test the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. We are looking for an internal temperature of 135.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest 10-minutes before serving. Reheat the gravy, adding meat drippings from the pan, if needed.
Video
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.