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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.
Best venison recipe ever. I’ve been experimenting for years and this is hands down THE BEST. It’s our family “go to” recipe. The flavors are amazing and it goes well with mashed potatoes
This is first class! Our go to recipe when we have venison backstrap and guests. So, so good! Thank you, Hank.
Oh, and make it 100% to recipe!
Ursula
Delicious!! One of my kids and my husband aren’t always enthusiastic about venison because of its gamey flavour and sometimes toughness, but we all adored it in this recipe Sunday night. My daughter (the kid who doesn’t love venison) came running downstairs THE SECOND she was called for dinner (it usually takes 2-3 shouts+) and said she could smell it all the way on the top floor. I didn’t even have all the right ingredients (I can’t really do dairy, so I used a special double cream made with coconut — but don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like coconut!! — and had to substitute Marsala/white wine/ vodka for the brandy; I did however use ghee instead of butter because even tho’ dairy’s off limits, there just is no substitute for butter flavour…), and even with all these subs, it tasted amazing. I will definitely come back to this recipe again. Thank you!
Hank – this is my Go To for old friends who I am sharing my most recent Wisconsin whitetail back loin with. This is my Go To for my most important meal of the year with my wife. Our best wine is always served with this meal. I now hunt it, butcher it, and am the Chef. Perfect.
My go to recipie for tenders and backstrap. Excellent!!
Hey Blake, one thing in french cuisine, as far as tomato paste goes is to make sure and sear the tomato paste til a rich dark rusty color, few mins/med heat, to assimilate the flavors necessary, or pincé, traditionally. Also to note tomato paste has come a long way in 100 years. So maybe use half the amount, but I would say the caramelization of the tomato paste is crucial flavor point for this sauce. The French love their Dijon, so lessen it a hair if not as favorable, wouldn’t recommend yellar hot dog mustard. A suggestion would be to to add the paste after you’ve sweat the garlic a minute or so, then it will pincé while your garlic finishes sautée’n and coats the garlic to help prevent over cooking, then deglaze (LairdsAppleBrandy*)and full speed ahead.
*such a quality spirit, some of the oldest in the nation, Georgef’nWashington sipped it, even, as you should to, with this beautiful, recipe…
I’m a huge fan of your recipes Hank, but this sauce tastes and smells of ketchup and mustard. I would like to try the more classic recipes, which seem to be nearly the same other than excluding the tomato paste.
Blake: Tomato is in the original recipe, more than 100 years ago. You didn’t put ketchup in there, did you? I am sorry you didn’t like it.
This is a fun recipe and tastes fantastic. Lots of positive comments. Everyone loves it!
Perfect! This recipe is a must try!