Venison Steak with Warm Crushed Potato and Watercress Salad
By: Adam Berkelmans
Watercress has been called one of the most nutritious vegetables out there, and I have been trying to incorporate more of it into my diet, wild and farmed.
It hasn’t been hard; I love watercress’s peppery flavor, similar to arugula, and its crisp verdant juiciness, which is more akin to iceberg lettuce than thin leafy lettuces.
It’s also great raw, cooked, or somewhere just between, like in this recipe.
Instead of cooking the watercress, I stir it into hot “smashed” potatoes, letting it wilt a bit without losing much of that freshness. This creates a unique side dish that will appease vegetable and potato lovers alike.
The olive oil really stands out in this dish, so be sure to use a bottle of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil, rather than a cheap cooking version. It’s a splurge, but it makes a big difference here!
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 venison round steaks
- Kosher salt
- 2 lbs waxy white potatoes, peeled and cut into medium chunks
- 1 large bunch watercress, large stems removed
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (good quality)
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 teaspoons lard or oil
Preparation:
Season the venison steaks generously with salt. Set aside.
In a medium pot, cover the potatoes with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are nice and fork-tender.
Drain the water, then put the pot back over low heat, shaking it until the potatoes are dry. Remove from heat and add half of the olive oil. With a fork, smash the potatoes against the side of the pot, mashing them into the olive oil and breaking them apart. You don’t want mashed potatoes here, just chunky smashed potatoes.
Roughly chop the watercress. Mix it into the potatoes and season with a small pinch of salt and lots of black pepper.
Meanwhile, heat the lard or oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the steaks and sear on both sides until done to your liking (rare to medium for best results). Let rest, then slice into bite-sized pieces.
Serve the sliced steak with the smashed potatoes, drizzling the dish with the leftover olive oil. Enjoy!
Get Cooking:
As always, Good luck this spring and remember to send any success pictures or stories from the field to [email protected] and you could be featured on our website or in our magazine. If this article or any of our articles have helped you become a better hunter or conservation steward, consider becoming a member of the Mule Deer Foundation or the Blacktail Deer Foundation or both. Click here to join: https://muledeer.org/product-category/membership/ or https://www.blacktaildeer.org/
Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real and wild food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food.
