Venison Backstrap Carpaccio
In the fall and winter months I am lucky enough to spend some time in Hawaii, Mostly for work but some play as well. Hawaii had Axis deer introduced to Molokai in the 1860’s from Hong Kong as a gift to the king of Hawaii Kamehameha V. Since then they have been brought to some of the other islands and exist as wild populations. When I first started cooking with axis deer I was amazed at how “clean” the meat tasted. It was really easy to be a wild game hero chef when cooking it. Hanging out with local Hawaiian’s I got a real appreciation for raw meats. One of my Favorites foods ever is Hawaiian Poke made with tuna. What I found out is that Raw axis deer tastes very similar to raw Tuna. This opened up a lot of possibilities for raw axis deer. I went with a standard Carpaccio with a lemon vinaigrette, arugula and of course finished with Maldon salt and capers. This dish is meant to be served as an appetizer or small first course.
Ingredients
8 oz untrimmed backstrap - dry aged in refrigeration for at least 5 days either covered in cheese cloth or uncovered
1⁄2 lemon, juiced
1⁄4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1⁄2 shallot
1 garlic clove minced finely or crushed with garlic press
Pinch of salt and pepper
Pinch maldon salt for finishing
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp capers
1⁄2 cup baby arugula
Directions
Sauce Add olive oil, juice from 1/2 lemon, white wine vinegar, shallot, garlic, salt and pepper into a small blender and puree till smooth. Set aside. (This will yield more than what you need for this recipe but can be used as a salad dressing)
Backstrap After backstrap has aged for at least 7 days in refrigeration, trim off all silver skin, fat and dried meat. Slice the meat against the grain very thinly. To slice against the grain, you will need to locate the direction of the muscle fibers. Slice across the fibers, perpendicular to the fiber grains. This will result in meat that is more tender.
On a cutting board, press the sliced meat evenly into the board with your fingers so that the meat is flattened thinner and even thickness. You can also use the flat base of a bowl or cup if you don't want to touch it with you hands.
On a serving platter, plate the pressed backstrap in an even layer on the plate. Add a pile of arugula and scatter the capers over the meat. Drizzle the plate of ingredients with olive oil vinaigrette. Finish with a light sprinkle of fresh ground pepper and maldon salt. Serve chilled.
Maldon Salt is an English sea-salt used on a meal in small quantities after the food has been cooked and plated. It comes in large, thin, uneven, crunchy salt flakes that have a clean, pure salt taste.