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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.
This is the recipe I make when someone says venison is “too gamey”. It’s an outstanding recipe!
This recipe was next level for me. Recently jumping into this amazing place of wild food, Hank has guided me into otherworldly flavours through recipes like this wonderful Steak Diane, which I made with beef tenderloin. Very simple to follow and make quickly for the spouse (who stole all my sauce! ?) Highly recommended for a date night surprise. ?
Made with antelope. Came out awesome. Everyone ate it up.
made it with blackbuck round roast and it was amazing!
Incredible recipe. Made this with venison backstrap for a special family/friends dinner and everyone loved it.
Love
This dish. Always a hit with our family and everyone we’ve introduced it to. Could drink this sauce for days. Always have extra bread for dunking/mopping.
I’ve made this recipe numerous times, including several New Year’s Eves. It’s absolutely delicious. I can’t think of anything that could be changed to make it better.
Just beautiful – thanks so much
I grew up eating venison as a staple and now cook it regularly. But I gotta say, this beats every recipe for venison I think I’ve ever had. This will be a regular in my recipe book! And that lovely sauce is great over rice.
Hank Shaw, may I use your Venison Steak Diane recipe in my recipe column video which I do for our small town newspaper website? Every other week I do a recipe column and a video to go with it. I wouldn’t use your recipe in the print version (it requires too many instructions for our printed space I think) but I think it would visually be more appealing than the venison pot pie or venison meat loaf recipes I intend to include.
I made this using bourbon for the deglazing and Stubbs Sticky Sweet barbecue sauce in place of tomato sauce.
Covered the tenderloins with carmelized Vidalia (last one of the year) and poured the sauce on top. It’s a nice southern twist, really good.
Hank, my brother John who took you duck hunting last year at his club in the Suisun Marsh, made this recipe last night from his harvest this past fall-and it was outstanding! We toasted you and he said, “Gotta love Hank.”
I have sent your book to friends in Colorado and Indiana, who both thanked me once they read and cooked with.
MJ: Thanks a heap! Hope his new kid is doing great!
This is my favorite recipe to make when I get venison. I have made this for family and friends so many times I have lost count. They all LOVE IT!
Thank you, Hank. It’s simple to make & easy to prepare.
Classic steak recipe, my wife loved this preparation.
Hi Hank from Australia. Must say this is an absolute favourite of ours. I hunt fallow deer, but am trying to get out for red deer and sambar deer this year. I made this with some fallow backstrap and my wife literally licked her plate clean.
Anyway, friday night here right now, drinking a few beers, some crazy prepping video comes up on youtube, watch it for a little bit, and I see a venison dish come up and think, gee…that looks familiar, and sure enough this guy has used the picture from your venison diane recipe as his depiction of a venison meal. HAHA I guess the preppers are gonna eat well at least!
It comes on at 4.27min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLLwfFKenIw
I made this last night, incredible! Wife said it was the best venison I’ve ever made and she typically is t a huge fan of game meat.
I am a traditionalist when it comes to tenderloin; slat pepper and sear. Looking for something a little different I ventured off to my trusty cookbook.. As is typical for the writings of Mr. Shaw, I was not disappointed. The resulting meal left me throwing manners to the wind, licking the plate clean.
I ended up eating what little leftovers remained the same evening before heading to bed.
Off to search for a recipe for the other half of the tenderloin..
A friend gave us some venison. I tried this recipe and it was delicious. Our friend tried some and said it was perfect and better than he had ever done. Thanks!!
I tried this recipie recently with a 1 pound, whole piece of venison (mule deer) loin/backstrap, and tried to follow it to the letter.
The result was perhaps the single best tasting venison I can recall ever tasting, much less cookink myself. Thanks, Hank, as it will certainly be one I’ll do again and recommend to others.
I typically make my venison roast very simply, just some flour, slat, and pepper and fired. Tried this recipe and was blown away. Quick, easy, and so delicious.
Are we talking dry mustard powder or prepared yellow mustard here?
Ty: Dijon is what I use.