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Broiled Venison Steak
Venison steak Salt and paprika Butter Currant jelly Possibly olive oil and lemon-juice This requires about three minutes more time for broiling than beefsteak. If strong, marinate in olive oil and lemon-juice for two hours before cooking. Drain without wiping, and broil over clear, hot coals, turning often to avoid scorching. Serve on a very hot platter, sprinkle with salt and paprika and spread both sides with a mixture of butter and currant jelly, allowing half as much jelly as fat.
A bare-bones grilling formula from an era when "broil" meant an open fire rather than an element in the oven. The instructions are sound; what they omit is quantity, thickness and any notion of internal temperature.
- The hinge: stop shortVenison has almost no intramuscular fat, so it dries out at the point where beef is still juicy. Modern practice is to pull the steak at 125-130F for rare to medium-rare and rest it five minutes (but see the caution on wild game temperatures). The recipe's "three minutes more than beefsteak" will overcook a modern loin steak.
- Clear, hot coalsCharcoal burned down to grey-ashed embers with no flame. Under a gas or electric broiler, use the highest setting with the meat 3-4 inches from the element; on a gas grill, direct high heat with the lid up.
- QuantitiesThe recipe gives none. Figure a 6-8 oz steak about 1 inch thick per person, and for the finishing butter about 2 tablespoons softened butter to 1 tablespoon currant jelly, which is the "half as much jelly as fat" ratio.
- "If strong"This means gamy wild venison, particularly from an older animal or a poorly handled carcass. Farmed and most young wild venison needs no marinade. The recipe gives no proportions for the oil and lemon juice; keep to the two hours it specifies, as longer acid contact softens the surface.
- Drain without wipingProbably deliberate: the film of oil left on the meat helps the lean surface brown. Do not pat the steak dry, but do let excess oil run off so it does not flare on the coals.
- Turning oftenContrary to modern grilling habit, frequent turning is the right call for a lean, thin cut over fierce heat. It keeps either face from scorching before the centre warms.
- The hot platterVenison fat congeals at a higher temperature than beef fat and the meat cools fast. Warm the platter in a 200F oven; the butter-and-jelly mixture is meant to melt into a sauce on contact.
- Currant jellyRed currant jelly, tart and firm-set, not the sweeter jams sold as "currant preserve." Cranberry jelly is the closest common substitute; sieve out any solids first so the butter mixture stays smooth.