I'm now in Singapore, but my mind is still in Hungary. I love going there and getting to see old friends that I worked with for 4 years before moving to Austin. It always fills me with joy being around them. I wasn't able to let all of them know that I would be coming home, so when I ran into them in the office hallway or cafeteria they were surprised and happy to see me. We just start talking and it always feels as though I never left, even though we hadn't seen each others in years. The conversations start where they been left off years ago.

The thing that I love to do the most while I'm in Hungary - apart from hanging out with old friends- is eat. Eating is sacred in Hungary and meat, in any form and shape, is the ultimate food. Game meat is especially common in Eastern European cuisine.

Although my dad and grandfather were big into hunting, it never turned into something that I was interested in. As a kid I joined dad on a few of his hunting trips, but I was more fascinated by the nature than killing animals. As kids our role was to herd the game towards the hunters. I shot only a few times in Romania, since firearm restrictions are a lot more strict. I never actually shot anything, but came close to shooting a duck once. Another time I saw a deer about 50 feet away from me but when I pointed the gun in its direction and saw its big wet eyes, I couldn't pull the trigger. My dad wasn't happy with that, so he stopped taking me hunting.

What I loved most about dad's hunting trips was that we never returned empty-handed even though we didn't always shoot something. If we saw beautiful mushrooms, we'd pick them. I learned which ones were edible and which one were not from my mom, who read several books and was able to recognize the good ones. Other times we'd pick wild berries. Or sometimes dad would shoot pike fish. Pike is well known to spawn really close to the surface where they are visible from the shore. That's when my dad would shoot them and bring them home.

I know game meat is not for everyone. Roni, for example, will not eat any game meat, no matter how well prepared it is. Venison tenderloins and backstraps are absolutely delicious and if you haven't tried them, please do because you're missing out on something extraordinary. I prefer marinating them before cooking to remove the gamey taste and infuse them with great aromas. When preparing game meat in Romania and Hungary, juniper and nutmeg are always present, as they help bring out the sweetness of the meats that makes them so delicious. Game meat pairs really well with fruity sauces or reductions. If you have fresh berries on hand you could use that instead of figs.

As for a side dish, I prefer mashed potatoes with pan roasted meats. I also found parsnips and broccoli in the fridge so that's how this mash came to be. Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Venison With Balsamic Fig Reduction

Serves 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Inactive time: 1/2 day

Ingredients

Marinade

1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10 juniper seeds
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Venison

1 1/2 lbs venison backstrap, cleaned (or tenderloin)
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
8-10 slices bacon (or prosciutto)
2 TBS peanut oil (or sunflower seed oil)
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1-2 sprigs fresh oregano (or rosemary, thyme, or tarragon)
salt, to taste

Balsamic Fig Reduction

1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1/2 cup dry Solera sherry
1/3 cup beef stock
10-12 fresh figs (or 1/2 cup fig preserve with lemon juice to reduce the sweetness)
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 TBS unsalted butter
salt, to taste

Parsnip and Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

1/2 lbs parsnips, peeled and diced
1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
1/2 lbs broccoli florets
1 1/2 TBS salt, for boiling the vegetables
3 TBS butter (or basting fat from the venison or a mix of both)
1/2 cup milk (or heavy cream)
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
salt, to taste

Instructions

Mix all marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag along with the venison backstrap. Seal the bag and shake well. Put the backstrap in the refrigerator and let it marinade overnight.
Preheat oven to 360F (180C) degrees. Put the parsnip, potatoes and broccoli into a large pot. Cover with water, add 1 1/2 TBS of salt and bring to a boil.
Remove venison from the refrigerator, pat dry and discard the marinade. Sprinkle fresh ground pepper on it. Lay bacon or prosciutto overlapping each other about a quarter of an inch on a plastic wrap. Place the venison on the top and slowly lift the plastic wrap starting from the top end. The venison will start rolling over the bacon. Wrap everything tightly in plastic plastic wrap. Set it aside and let it rest for 10-15 minutes at room temperature.
By this time the vegetables should be boiling. Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are easily pierced with a fork. Set an alarm if you have to because you'll be multitasking.
Add oil to a heavy bottomed or cast iron skillet.
Heat oil over medium-high heat until it starts shimmering. When it's almost smoking add wrapped venison and roast it for 3-4 minutes on each side until the bacon is crispy. If using prosciutto you may need to cook it for about 2 minutes on each side.
Reduce heat to medium, add butter, aromatic herbs and crushed garlic and baste venison wrap for 5 more minutes. Scoop out 3-4 tablespoons of grease and save it in a small bowl. You'll need it for the cumberland sauce and the mash.
Remove skillet from heat and place it in the middle shelf of the oven. Cook for about 10 minutes or less. If you have a thermometer make sure the inside temperature of the venison is not higher than 125F (50C) degrees.
While the meat is in the oven, start the cumberland sauce by adding half of the saved fat to a small or medium sauce pan. Heat it up over medium heat and add shallots. Sweat them for 2-3 minutes and add the sherry and vinaigrette. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Add the beef stock and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Add the figs and lightly crush them with a spatula or spoon. Cook for 5-6 minutes, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until the sauce thickens. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Transfer venison to a plate and wrap it in tin foil and let it rest for 5 minutes. This is an essential step for every meat that you roast. If you don't rest it the meat will bleed when sliced losing the delicious and precious juices.
By this time your vegetables are tender as well. Drain them well and while they are still warm, add butter (or grease from the venison basting sauce), cream, and black pepper. Using a potato masher or a hand mixer, mash the vegetables to your desired consistency. If you like it creamier add more butter and mash them longer. I prefer my mash chunky so I always use the masher. Taste the potato mash and adjust saltiness. You will need more salt than usually because of the sweetness of the parsnips and broccoli.
Cut venison into medallions and serve with the fig reduction. Serve with parsnip and broccoli mash, or alternately with asparagus, roasted rustic potatoes or creamy polenta with cheese.

NOTES

I use a plastic wrap to help with wrapping the bacon tightly around the venison. It also saves me some time as I don't need to wrap the bacon strips around the venison one-by-one.
If you are not using a heavy skillet, the cooking times may need to be less. I prefer cast iron because the heat is distributed evenly and the shifts in temperature aren't that sudden when reducing/increasing heat under it.