Exquisite gibier! Venison cooking recipes - high class edition.

Gibier is a katakana reading of the French word gibier, and refers to the use of wild birds and animals (souvage) captured by hunters as ingredients.

In medieval Europe, the upper class aristocrats hunted as a hobby and ate the meat of birds and animals caught in their territories. For this reason, game meat has long been valued as a luxury ingredient, especially in the French cuisine world, and has been used in special dishes.

If you go to a high-end grocery store in Europe, you'll find gibier meat lined up alongside livestock meat in the showcase of the butcher section. There are hares (lièvre), mallards (colvert), pheasants (faisan), wild boars (sanglier), but the king is the deer (chevreuil).

Venison is low in fat compared to other meats, high in protein and low in calories, and rich in iron and minerals. It is often used as the main course of high-class French courses, and top-class chefs elaborate various techniques and tastes.

Red wine & chocolate sauce of venison

Gordon Ramsay is a three-star chef from Scotland. A very popular chef in Europe, he holds seven Michelin stars in three restaurants in London, England.

In this video, Gordon Ramsay explains venison in red wine and chocolate sauce.

First, the surface of the venison is grilled with olive oil and butter, then wrapped in butter-wrapped paper to retain moisture and heated in the oven. Meanwhile, lightly fry the pancetta (pork belly), shallots and garlic, ground black pepper, and thyme (an herb used to flavor meat dishes) and add the red wine. Add the chicken bouillon, finish with vinegar and dark chocolate, and you've got yourself a red wine and chocolate sauce.

A seemingly unusual combination of red wine and chocolate, this sauce is often used in French cuisine to complement meat dishes. Gordon Ramsay balances the flavors of spices and herbs to neutralize the meat's odor and balances bitterness and sweetness to bring out the flavor of the venison, the star of the dish.

Deer saddle meat with pumpkin, chanterelles and leafy greens

Venison also has different tastes and characteristics depending on the part. It is very soft and considered to be the finest cut in French cuisine.

In this video, UK-born two-Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr. cooks deer saddle meat. Roasted saddle meat is served with fall flavors such as pumpkin, chanterelles (chanterelles), walnuts and trevis.

Although chanterelles are not well known in Japan, they are valued as edible mushrooms overseas and often appear in traditional dishes using venison. In France, it is called "Girol" or "Chanterelle" and has an apricot scent. Unlike high-end truffles, truffles are widely popular as common mushrooms because they are a mushroom that can be harvested locally.

Trevis is a reddish-purple vegetable native to Europe that looks similar to purple cabbage. Also known as red chicory, it is characterized by bitterness. It is an ingredient that shines just by using a small amount. Michel Roux pairs these vegetables with fruity, tender venison to create a balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami.

Venison and Vegetables/Fruits Grilled in a Nabe

The video below is a casserole of venison, vegetables and fruits prepared by Mr. Stephane Duchiron, the chef of Ore - Ducasse au château de Versailles, a popular restaurant near the entrance to the Palace of Versailles in France.

Casserole is a traditional French dish that is made by simmering vegetables together with seasonings. Dried venison fillets are roasted and served with a casserole of cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, pears and onions.

Some people may be reluctant to eat meat and fruit together, but fruit goes so well with venison that it is said to maximize its potential. A delicious recipe that uses seasonal vegetables and fruits.

summary

Venison has very little fat compared to wild boar meat, so if you grill it over high heat like other meat, it will become dry and not delicious. In Japan, hunters' meals do not use elaborate cooking methods, so some hunters say, "If you know shish (meat), you can't eat deer."

However, if a first-class chef properly prepares and cooks venison as described above, it becomes a high-class venison dish. Recently, the number of restaurants serving game meat has increased in Japan, so I feel that venison dishes prepared by professionals have become more familiar.

In some areas, the hunting season has already started this month, and the venison season is just around the corner. I would like to eat exquisite venison cuisine that melts in my tongue while incorporating seasonal vegetables and fruits.