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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.
Wow!! Everything I read from your excerpts are absolutely great! It takes a good writer to really keep my attention especially when all I am looking for is a great venison recipe on how to cook it best. And I find myself copying and pasting everything you have written about venison. Thank you for taking the time to post what you have posted on venison. It has made day knowing that I have a lot to learn and can thru your experiences and know how. Yes, I read where you don’t know it all… but you truly know more than most. A great big thanks!! Joanne
I just made venison steaks for the first time and your cooking instructions, including the resting time during sauce prep were SPOT ON. Perfect medium rare!
But I also found that the sauce was a bit too strong for the venison. Maybe only a teaspoon of Worcestershire and add the mustard bit by bit–to taste. The recipe as is would be perfect for steak but is too strong for venison. I also added sauteed mushrooms to the sauce. Mmmm. Thanks for this great recipe!
Whoa! This is fabulous! I’ve tried various recipes for Steak Diane over the years (started out with Betty Crocker’s ages ago), but this… THIS is the best ever!
Made it last night with backstrap from the 8 point buck hubs got this year, and he did, indeed, lick the plate. Agree that doubling the sauce is a good idea.
I made this last night but cooked the backstrap sous vide. Hands down the best meal I’ve ever prepared. Thanks Hank!
My wife and I enjoyed this last night, and it was absolutely wonderful! I shot a young 4×4 whitetail buck this season that was nice and fat from farm living – the steaks were marvelous with this recipe.
my wife Wendy and i loved it,thanks for sharing
In the end I made wild boar steaks, but except for that I stuck to the above recipe and the sauce turned out amazing – beautiful with some German Servietten Dumplings and braised red cabbage. Fabulous fall food! Thanks for the recipe!
I was thinking about making Venison this weekend – could not think of how to prepare it, but now finding your recipes I am spoilt for choice – love this version!
I made this tonight and it was RIDICULOUSLY delicious!! I’m new to learning how to prepare venison and this recipe makes me feel like I could honestly grow to love venison! I appreciate the way you word your recipes and I found this one very easy to follow. Waiting for the husband to get home now…can’t wait to see his reaction! Thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe.
Made this tonight. I’ve been hesitant to make the loins in the freezer. I haven’t made any venison like this since I was training to be a chef so many years ago. One of my instructors was a big fan of wild game and we made a loin with a wild mushroom veal demiglace. So, I thought I’d have to make a demglace in order to like it… WAS I WRONG! I really liked this.. couldn’t get enough! My new sweetie is a hunter and I’m glad! We will be enjoying more recipes from your site. Thank you.
I have no idea the age of the doe this came from but the meat was tender and delicious. The sauce is great..and with the tomato and mustard is reminiscent of a veal demiglace. Great Idea.
Amazing recipe. I will definitely make again (and again). I think that I am probably going to make all of your recipes eventually (I made your German Rabbit Stew and put it over homemade pasta—absolutely wonderful. It was the best rabbit I have ever had and I have had some pretty great rabbit dishes in the past).
I am going to be cooking this dish for a few friends and one of them cannot have alcohol of any kind. How can I substitute the brandy?
Excellent Steak Diane recipe! I have done Steak Diane with 3 or 4 different recipes over the years and this as good as it gets. I did add some sauteed mushrooms because I had a handful that needed used up but otherwise followed recipe exactly. This is now my “go to” edition of Steak Diane.
Delicious. Very rich, but going in the recipe book for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Hank,
Excellent! We made this for eight for a Boxing Day dinner last night, only suggestion is to double the sauce, it’s that good.
TIP: our venison loins this year were quite large, so we wanted to cut them, frozen, to have just enough for last night. This Wusthof meat saw is amazing: like cutting butter through frozen meat and on Christmas day, to cut bone-in ham in half. Might be good to ask Santa for! https://www.wusthof-foodservice.com/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-190/445_read-4049/52_view-648/categories-648/country-usa/wlang-2/categories-210
QUESTION: The loin we cut was a gift and wrapped in a light paper that followed the form of the meat just beautifully, no apparent air pockets. I’d love to get more of this for wrapping meat before going in the freezer. Any idea what it might have been?
Many thanks for all you do – –
I made it today for dinner with venison. It was very good. Whoever likes steak/meat should try this. The sauce is to die for. Definitely a keeper. Thank you
For my taste buds, and my beautiful young doe, this is wayyyyy too much flavor. Totally overwhelms the delicious flavor of the deer, and this one I shot was so tender and young it really had no game flavor at all. I LOVE the flavor of venison, don’t need any mustard on it, will keep to a super rare grill or pan sear and a little dab of soy or Worcestershire sauce, if anything.
What a great recipe. My wife who I cannot get to eat venison absolutely loved it! My 21month old sons first experience with deer and finished his plate. Thank you for posting the most delicious venison recipe I have ever made or had!
Shot my first deer this year. I used this recipe for the backstraps. Delicious !
My husband is die hard hunter, therefore my freezer is full of deer meat. I am not a fan of venison but I cook for my him. I prepared this recipe and it was a hit and we had no leftovers. I have to admit it was very good and I found a way to enjoy venison.