This is one of my favorite dishes to cook for friends and family on a cold day. The creamy chowder is a rendition of a dish I learned while cooking at Peninsula Grill under the great Southern Chef Robert Carter in Charleston, SC. It’s simple enough to be served as casual fare, but with a few presentation tweaks it’s a perfect dish for a special occasion. Serve with your favorite rice, roasted potatoes or creamy grits.
If you can get your hands on some fresh oysters, those are obviously the best to use. However some grocery stores carry fresh pre-shucked oysters that work just fine. You can also find high quality canned pre-cooked oysters in specialty grocery stores as well.
Venison With Creamy Oyster Sauce
Ingredients
For the Venison
- 4 venison loin portions (cooked to your liking)
For the Sauce
- 4 slices smoky bacon, 1/4 inch dice
- 1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup bell pepper, small dice
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup leeks, white part thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup venison stock, chicken stock or veal stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 24 shucked oysters with oyster liquor
- hot sauce, optional
- toasted benne seeds or sesame seeds for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a medium sized pot over medium heat, cook the bacon until the fat has rendered and the bacon has started to brown. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add the leeks and bell peppers and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the stock, heavy cream, and thyme. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Adjust the heat and cook at a slow simmer until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add hot sauce to taste if using. Turn off the heat and add the oysters to the sauce. Stir gently to combine and let sit off of the heat for about 3 minutes, just enough to cook the oysters
NOTES
- Cook the venison separately. Have the venison cooked to your liking before serving, since the chowder is the only part cooked in the recipe card method.
- Render the bacon first. Let the bacon render its fat and brown before adding the onion and garlic, so the base has more flavor.
- Cook the vegetables in order. Add the onion and garlic first, then the leeks and bell pepper, so the aromatics soften without the garlic scorching.
- Simmer until spoon-coating. Once the stock, cream, and thyme go in, keep it at a slow simmer until the chowder thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Season after it thickens. Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce only after the base has reduced, since the bacon and oyster liquor already bring salt.
- Add the oysters off heat. Turn the heat off, stir them in gently, and let them sit about 3 minutes, just long enough to cook through without turning tough.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.
