One of my favourite recipes of the Autumn is Wild Venison and fresh Chanterelle Mushroom Wellington.. Absolutely delicious!!
Still yearning the flavours of the Autumn I made it just recently but this time with dried Chanterelles. Still absolutely lovely and maybe even a little more accessible for everyone. Dried wild Chanterelle mushrooms are easy to find and found in the more exotic areas of all good supermarkets, you know the sections with the expensive pasta, herbs and spices and my favourite of all the spices; sweet smoked paprika!!
Get the very latest Mushroom Hunting Books.
Anyway I digress, finding wild mushrooms isn’t easy business and certainly not for an amateur. You must research, study and be 100% sure that you are picking an edible wild mushroom prior to eating it! I recently chatted with somebody on WildaboutBritain.com who pointed out the subtle differences between the real Chanterelle and the False Chanterelle for this reason, and although we couldn’t be any further away from the Chanterelle season (Late Summer to Late Autumn) I have decided to get in early and try and explain the difference using some of the information I learned from him (search False Chanterelle in the search box).
Back to the Venison Wellington.. This is a great recipe and if you have got a little time on your hands (Sundays are perfect!), you’ll just want to make this again and again!
Wild Venison and Chanterelle Mushroom Wellington
Ingredients:
Olive oil (If you can find it, Old Farmer Browns Rape seed oil is excellent!)
1 x Fillet of Wild Venison
Maldon Salt and Pepper
English mustard
2 x packets of Chanterelle mushrooms (Dried)
Streaky Smoked Bacon (About 12 slices)
Pack of puff pastry (Must be all butter)
2 eggs beaten
For the pancakes:
Cup of plain flour
1 egg
Cup of Milk
From the Garden:
Garlic Chives
Parsley
Thyme
First things first, if you are using dried Chanterelle’s you need to have them soaking in tepid to warm water for at least an hour, do not throw away the water as you’ll be needing that later! Take the fillet of Wild Venison and season it well, get a hot frying pan ready (one that can accommodate the Venison) and sear the fillet all over (including the ends), take it out of the pan and brush with plenty of hot English Mustard then set aside to cool.
Drain the Chanterelles well (give them a little squeeze and make sure all of that liquid is out) and coarsely chop. In the same pan as you seared the fillet of Venison fry the mushrooms for 4 to 5 minutes, when they are nearly cooked through add a little of the fresh chopped thyme and then set aside the mushroom mixture.
Next we need to make the pancakes. This is a fail safe pancake mixture that I learned whilst watching James Martin, one cup of flour, one cup of milk and one egg. You can use the same for Yorkshires except leave the mix in the fridge for an hour before putting it into the hot Yorkshire tins. Anyway, whisk the mixture well and then add chopped Garlic Chives, Parsley and Thyme. Make five or six of the herby pancakes and again allow them to cool.
Now it’s an assembly job. Roll out the puff pastry into a large rectangle on a floured surface, don’t roll it out to thin, you need to take into account the size of your Venison. Next lay the now cooled pancakes on top of the puff pastry leaving a little room at the edges of the puff pastry (try not to overlap the pancakes!). Now lay the bacon over the pancakes and the Chanterelle mixture on top of this making sure everything is spread evenly. Finally add the Venison to the layers starting at one edge of the pastry. Roll the whole Wellington over and before you complete the pastry tube brush some egg on to the far flap to seal the Wellington.
Tuck the edges over and make sure that you haven’t got any air trapped in the Wellington and make sure that it is completely sealed. Put it onto a plate and then put it in the fridge for a minimum of an hour.
Get the oven on to between 200 and 220 degrees (depending on what type of an oven you have). Brush the Venison Wellington with the remaining egg and place on a well greased non stick baking tray. Cook for an hour, the pastry should be golden and crispy and then rest for 20 minutes.
Cut and serve the Venison Wellington in thick slices and serve with winter root vegetable chips and cabbage.
Little tip, use the water from the mushroom soaking along with a little port or red wine to make a gravy to die for!!
Love, love, love this recipe!! Perfect winter warmer and a great way to eat both Wild Venison and Chanterelle mushrooms! Enjoy!
Check out our shop to find out how to grow your own Chanterelle Mushrooms!