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Steak Diane. What can I say? This dish was already passé when I first began going to restaurants as a boy in the 1970s; its heyday in America was in the 1950s and 1960s, when French cooking was all the rage. (Thanks, Julia!)
Most people who remember this dish remember it as beef filet mignon with a zippy sauce of mustard, Worcestershire sauce, demi-glace, cream and shallots — all flambéed at the table with cognac.
Ritzy, eh? Well, my version of steak Diane is a little less flamboyant, and it hearkens back to the dish’s roots. Diane, you see, is really Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt. And Sauce Diane, at least in its proto-form, was first mentioned by Escoffier in his Le Guide Culinaire
back in 1907. And it was a sauce not for beef, but for venison.
It is a classic for a reason. This sauce is so good you must have lots of bread around to sop it up. If you don’t, you will find yourself licking the plate, and that’s not very polite.
I developed this recipe more than a decade ago, and I am more than happy with my version, which is a little stronger flavored than a typical steak Diane; it seems appropriate considering that venison is more strongly flavored than beef.
Over the years it has become one of my most popular recipes. Not a week goes by that I don’t get a note from someone who made this and loved it. I am very happy to have played a small part in reviving this classic.
Serve steak Diane with a big red wine, like a Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane, Petit Verdot or Graciano.
This is absolutely a date-night dish, but it is also so easy to make you can whip it up on a Wednesday night. So I suppose if you have a Wednesday night date it would be perfect…
Venison Steak Diane
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound piece of venison backstrap or tenderloin
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 1/2 cup venison stock or beef broth
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon mustard (I use Dijon)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Minced herbs for garnish (basil parsley, chives, etc)
Instructions
- Bring the venison loin out of the fridge, salt it well and let it come to room temperature, at least 20 minutes.
- Heat the butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat for about 90 seconds. Pat the venison dry with a paper towel and cook it on all sides. Turn the heat to medium so the butter doesn't scorch, and take your time. It should take about 8 to 10 minutes or so to get a nice brown crust on the venison without overcooking the center. Remove the venison, tent loosely with foil and set aside.
- Add the shallots to the saute pan and cook for 1 minute, then add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or so. Don't let the garlic burn. Deglaze the pan with the brandy, scraping off any stuck-on bits in the pan with a wooden spoon. Let the brandy cook down almost to a glaze, then add the venison stock, tomato paste, mustard and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Let this boil down until a wooden spoon dragged across the pan leaves a trail behind it that does not fill in for a second or two. This should take about 3 minutes on high heat.
- Turn off the heat and let the boiling subside. Stir in cream until the sauce is as light as you like. Don't let the sauce boil again or it could break.
- Slice the venison into thick medallions. If you find you have not cooked it enough, let the meat swim in the sauce for a few moments to heat through. If the venison is to your liking, pour some sauce on a plate and top with the meat. Garnish with some chopped herbs. Chives are traditional, but basil and parsley are also nice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
After reading all of the great reviews I knew I had to try this! This was the most excellent venison recipe I’ve tried to date….I followed the recipe to a T other than adding some fresh mushrooms. All I can say is I had to make myself stop eating because the venison was tender, cooked to perfection, and the sauce was just extraordinary! I will certainly make this again and again, and then some more! Thank you for sharing what is now “the best venison recipe ever” in my book! And by the way, I do have your book! Great stuff 😉
My husband proudly presented me with a piece of deer tenderloin, having never cooked let alone eaten Bambi my reaction was not what he expected…..I was terrified, what if I get it wrong! After scouring the internet for recipes I found Hank’s Venison Diane recipe and put my life in his hands…..wow what an easy recipe and the venison was heavenly we will be having deer again……Thanks.
I made this the other night and it was amazing!!!!the best venison I have ever made by far. Highly recommend.
Made this last night using farmed venison medallions. It was the best venison dish i have ever made, will be making this more often. great recipe!
I found this site while looking for venison consomme and came across the other venison recipes. I knew I had a half backstrap from a younger spike in the freezer. This venison Diane was incredible, this recipe is wonderful and fun to cook. I also made some with a beef filet. I like the way you write and the advice you give on the meat etc. It is great to see various ways to cook game. Looking forward to trying the others.
Wow! Thanks for this recipe. I was cleaning out the freezer in anticipation of this year’s season when I found an overlooked piece of backstrap. I had stumbled across your recipe a few days earlier, but thought it would have to wait until a deer was down this year.
Anyway, followed your recipe closely, and the result was simply delicious. My wife and I enjoyed it immensely. Served with maque choux, a crusty baguette, and a fine pinot noir. Great meal; thanks again.
I feel compelled to reply to this recipe.
I cooked it up for my wife, and followed the recipe nearly to a T. The only thing different was replacing the shallots with onions…not because I felt this would improve the dish, but because it was all I had.
Let me first say that I’m by no means a food savvy person. I only recently (within the last 5 years or so) learned the proper way to cook wild game. That said, I have a few go-to dishes that I use for the myriad of game I use, and tend to not vary from the trend.
HOWEVER, I decided to make Venison Diane, mostly because I had virtually all the ingredients handy and I actually had a 3/4 pound hunk of backstrap still in the freezer.
Without getting too detailed, I’ll just spell it out for everyone: incredible. That’s it. This recipe is, without a doubt, the most delicious, perfect, most amazing way of serving venison I have ever tasted. The sauce is rich and succulent; the meat, tender and juicy. I served it with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans, and used a huge hunk of bread to sop up all that heavenly sauce.
If I didn’t feel I’d burn myself out on it too soon, I’d probably cook all of my backstrap this way. It really is THAT good! Thanks a ton Hank!!!
Looks delicious!
I never tire of venison and can never get enough, it’s what we grew up on! : )
~Martin
Love Steak Diane!
I’m so retro, it’s hilarious!
Great idea for what to do with a backstrap!
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try the recipe. Thanks for sharing Hank.
🙂
This is my go to sauce for red meat since I had it on the menu of a restaurant in San Francisco in the late ’90’s. I also use it for a base for au poivre, just heavily pepper the protien and add green peppercorns to the sauce. Love your blog Hank Keep it up!
Great looking recipe. We’ve got some good venison down here in South-Western Australia, so I’m keen to give this a try. Cheers.
Great suggestion Hank. I’ve got a nice cut of Oryx just waiting to be eaten.
Venison STEAK DIANE! Wow, sometimes I think Ive lost my memory.
As a young woman I worked as a hostess/table side chef at a schmancy dining establishment. One of the dishes I cooked was steak Diane. Ummmmm, I can still taste the rich, deep sauce (that was 30 yrs ago too). I used to flame it at the end for presentation.
70 % of what we eat is venison. I actually do have a whole tenderloin in the freezer that I meticulously trimmed during the annual deer processing. I will be making this as soon as it thaws. All these years of cooking venison and I never thought to make this. I can hardly wait. Thanks for the head rush.
PS! Wheres the mushrooms Hank!
This year I’m making sure I keep my back strap whole so I can prepare this! It’s been, umm, decades since I’ve had it.
Wow. As if I didn’t have reason enough to try for my own deer this year, you present me with this luscious dish. Thanks for sharing!
My mom used to serve this with a huge amount of thick cut onions encircling the medallions. She added them about five minutes before adding the cream. Thanks for the memories!
I just happen to have a backstrap in the freezer! I can’t wait to try the recipe this weekend. Thanks!
Thanks.
I am supposed to stay at work for another eight hours, after seeing THAT!
I might have to get ‘sick’, go home, and get out some venison….
…that just looks amazing.
(Thanks, Great job, Hank!)
This looks spectacular, Hank! Just in time for deer season!