This year we had a low-key New Year's Eve at home, just the two of us. Michael and I celebrated Christmas together since he was in Miami and I was in Minnesota over the holidays. I wanted to make a nice dinner, and so I prepared some of the venison tenderloin I got from my dad. I felt so honored - he only had 2 tenderloins and he gave them to me, hoping I would make something delicious with them. I don't have a lot of experience making venison, but I grew up eating a lot of wild game and freshly caught fish thanks to my hunter-fisher father.
You want to cook the venison rare, so it doesn't get tough. The sauce is super tasty - lots of flavor. I am not a huge red-meat eater, and I really loved this one. Michael said it was the best meat he's ever eaten. The edges of the meat get brown and crispy, and the inside is soft and tender (it was also a prime cut). The sauce, Michael said, reminded him of Stuben in Germany where you can get wild boar or venison with a hearty sauce. I served the meat with a fresh carrot salad and a wild rice pilaf with delicata squash.
