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A black tray with sliced roasted venison with balsamic blackberry sauce and sliced oranges.
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5 / 2 votes

Roasted Venison with Balsamic Blackberry Sauce

This roasted venison with balsamic blackberry sauce is an elegant and impressive main course made by basting venison with a balsamic blackberry reduction and finishing it with a bourbon-infused maple syrup. Perfect for holiday entertaining.
Prep Time1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Mains
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 287

Ingredients

For the blackberry-balsamic vinegar reduction

  • 2 cups balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon zested orange zest (from 1 orange)
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 pint plus 12 whole fresh blackberries

For the blackberry maple syrup

  • 1 pint fresh blackberries
  • 2 cups pure maple syrup
  • 2 cups bourbon
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange zest (from 1 orange)
  • 8 black peppercorns
  • 1 sprig thyme

For the roasted venison

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound venison loin (454 g) or two (8-ounce | 227-g) venison loin steaks
  • 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 shallot, cut into 1⁄8-inch-thick (3-mm) rings (about 1⁄4 cup)
  • 1/2 medium orange, thinly sliced
  • 1 sprig oregano
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3 tablespoons blackberry-balsamic vinegar reduction
  • 1 tablespoon blackberry maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
US - Metric

Instructions

Make the blackberry-balsamic vinegar reduction

  • In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, orange zest, thyme, and 1 pint of the blackberries to a simmer. Cook until mixture is reduced by half, about 45 minutes.
  • Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand 15 minutes. Cut the remaining 12 blackberries in half.
  • Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl or 1-quart (946-ml) jar and pour the vinegar reduction through the strainer. Discard the solids. Add the halved blackberries. Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature up to 3 days.

Make the blackberry maple syrup

  • Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring all the blackberry maple syrup ingredients to a simmer. Cook until the syrup is reduced by about half, about 50 minutes.
  • Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand for 1 hour.
  • Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl or a 1-quart (946-ml) jar and pour the syrup through the strainer. Discard the solids. Serve immediately or and store at room temperature up to 3 days.

Make the roasted venison

  • In a medium skillet over medium heat, warm the oil.
  • Sprinkle the venison with the pepper and kosher salt. Sear the venison until golden brown all over, about 8 minutes total.
  • Add the shallot to the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
  • Arrange the orange slices, oregano, and garlic around the meat in the skillet, and cook 4 minutes, turning the oranges after 2 minutes.
  • Carefully spoon the blackberry-balsamic vinegar reduction over the venison, and cook, basting with reduction mixture in the skillet, until the venison is done to the desired doneness, preferably when the internal temperature is between 130° and 140°F (54° and 60°C), about 4 minutes, for medium-rare.
  • Transfer the venison to a cutting board and let stand at least 10 minutes.

To serve the roasted venison

  • Meanwhile, add the blackberry-maple syrup to the drippings in the skillet and stir until combined, about 1 minute.
  • Slice the venison and sprinkle with salt. Drizzle with the pan sauce and serve immediately.

Notes

What You Need To Know About How To Use Leftover Vinegar And Syrup

You’ll end up with an abundance of both blackberry balsamic vinegar and blackberry maple syrup, which is a very good thing. Pondering what to do with the leftovers? We have a few suggestions. And we’d love to hear what you did in a comment below.
For the blackberry-balsamic vinegar
Make a batch of shrub cocktails.
Swap it in for regular balsamic vinegar in your favorite vinaigrette.
Make this again, but swap in duck breast or pork tenderloin for the venison.
For the blackberry maple syrup
Drizzle it over good-quality vanilla ice cream.
Pour over pound cake and serve with fresh blackberries on top.
Leite’S Loves…Inspired By This Recipe
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Feast Rectangular Hammered Iron Serving Platter by Crate and Barrel
Baroque Pewter Pitcher by Sur La Table

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 937mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g