I love working with fire-roasted red peppers, and I find they marry really well with venison, whether it be from antelope, deer or elk. I imagine itβd be good with caribou or moose, too. The sauce that underlies this is a pretty classic Port wine sauce. Keys to this recipe are having tenderloin β any deer or antelope will be fine β fire-roasted red peppers, decent Port and dried morel mushrooms. You can substitute dried porcini mushrooms, and you can use backstraps, which are the top loin of the animal.
Take the tenderloin from the fridge and salt it well. Set it aside to come to room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Lay out the roasted red pepper and cut it into large squares (circles would be fine, too). Remove any stray seeds.
Grind the dried mushrooms to a powder in a spice grinder, the add to the venison stock.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. When it stops frothing, saute the tenderloin about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on how you like your meat. Set aside under foil when done.
To make the sauce, deglaze the pan with the Port. Scrape up any brown bits with a wooden spoon. When the Port is reduced to a little more than a glaze, add the venison stock and bring to a boil. Reduce this to the point where when you run a spoon through it, the sauce takes a moment to close the trail you left in the pan with the spoon. Turn off the heat and add the final tablespoon of butter. Swirl to combine.
To serve, pour some sauce down on a plate, then top with the red peppers. Slice the tenderloin and arrange it on the red pepper. Garnish with chopped chives.