No. 2182

Venison—Slices of Kernel—in Papers

Tranches de Noix de Chevreuil en Papillotes

Pare oval-shaped some slices half an inch thick cut from the kernel of the haunch; they should each weigh five ounces after being trimmed; broil them rare, and then wrap in heart-shaped sheets of oiled paper; on top of each slice lay a thin slice of fat pork, and over this some well seasoned and thick Duxelle (No. 385), then close the paper, crimp it all around, and lay them on a buttered dish that can be placed in the oven; and on which they should be served; push it in the oven for a few moments to serve when a fine color.

← No. 2181 Venison—Slices of Kernel—a la Hussarde Venison & Large Game No. 2183 Roebuck, Leg Of, a la Francatelli →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer's papillote is a two-stage cooking method: the venison is broiled almost to the point you want it, then finished in the paper only long enough to heat the mushroom paste and colour the wrapper. Treat the second stage as a garnish step, not a cooking step, or the meat will be grey.

"Kernel" of the haunchThe noix is the large single muscle of the leg, sold today as venison top round or the leg eye. Any lean, evenly grained cut from the haunch will pare into 5 oz oval slices about half an inch thick; two per person is generous, one with a starch and vegetable is a normal portion.
Broil rare, and mean itVenison leg has almost no intramuscular fat and turns dry and liverish past medium. Sear hard over high heat for roughly 90 seconds a side and pull it at 120F internal — the residual heat plus the oven stage will carry it to 125-130F.
Duxelle (No. 385)Ranhofer's duxelles is broadly finely chopped mushrooms with shallot and onion cooked in butter until the moisture has gone, then seasoned; check No. 385 for his exact proportions. It must be genuinely dry and thick or it will steam the meat and soak through the paper. Make it ahead and cool it.
The slice of fat porkThis is unsmoked salt pork or fresh pork back fat, sliced thin, and it is functional rather than decorative — it bastes the lean venison inside the sealed paper. Thinly sliced fatback, unsmoked pancetta or lardo all work; bacon changes the flavour considerably.
Paper and the sealUse parchment cut in a heart or oval, brushed with oil, with the meat on one half. Fold over and crimp the open edge in small overlapping pleats, working around the curve, so the packet inflates rather than leaks. Foil holds a seal but will not brown or puff.
"A few moments" in the ovenNo temperature is given. In practice this means a hot oven, in the region of 425F, for only a few minutes — just until the parchment browns and balloons. Any longer and the trapped steam will finish cooking the venison through.
Serve in the paperThe recipe has the buttered dish go to the table and serve as the serving dish, with the packets intact; opening them at the table is the usual convention for papillotes. Have plates warm, since the meat cools quickly once the paper is open.

A Little History

En papillote — cooking in a sealed paper case — was well established in French professional kitchens by the nineteenth century, and the heart-shaped sheet Ranhofer specifies was the standard cut, folded so the crimped edge ran around the curve. The technique is usually explained as a way of holding aroma and moisture around delicate items, but in a restaurant dining room its real value was theatrical: the paper puffs and browns in the oven and releases a burst of mushroom-scented steam when opened at the table. Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchens at Delmonico's in New York for over thirty years, and The Epicurean (1894) is essentially that restaurant's working repertoire written down, cross-referenced by number so a cook could chase a garnish like Duxelle back to its own entry. Venison appears throughout the game section because American restaurants of the period still drew on a wild and market-hunted supply that a modern kitchen has to replace with farmed deer — milder, and, in the case of the haunch eye, considerably more forgiving to slice into neat ovals.