For this one, we used mutton steaks that my wife gave me for my birthday last year…but if you haven’t got mutton laying around your freezer, this will work with beef, venison, bison, or even lamb. We wanted to build a rich sauce to complement the deep flavours of the mutton, so we toasted some juniper berries and blended them with veggie broth and Worcestershire sauce before thickening everything in a roux. One thing to note as you cook though….juniper berries have a very strong flavour, so you won’t need too many to build your sauce. Next time we make this, we will use substantially fewer berries in our sauce.
We served this over Buttered Egg Noodles with Peas and Mushrooms. However, it would also work very well with your favourite mashed potatoes (or our Sneaky Mashed Potatoes for a lower carb potato option)!
Time: 35 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Mutton Steaks (Lamb, Beef, Venison, Bison, or even Pork Chops will work too)
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Juniper Berries (Don’t use too many, or it will over power your sauce.)
- Veggie or Beef Stock or Broth. Stock is probably better, but we used broth because that’s what we had on hand.
- Butter
- Flour (equal parts with the butter)
Method:
- Pull your steaks out of the fridge about an hour before you plan to cook. About a half hour before, lightly sprinkle some salt on both sides of each steak.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Put some juniper berries (use fewer than we did in our picture) in a dry pan, and heat it, stirring occasionally until the juniper berries release their aromas and turn shiny.
- Blend your berries with your stock/broth and some Worcestershire sauce in a blender/Ninja, and set aside for later.
- Melt some butter in an oven safe skillet (cast iron or stainless steel), and when it’s hot, put your steak into the pan. Sear for about 5 minutes.
- Flip, and sear for another 5 minutes (adding more butter if necessary).
- Move your steak pan into the oven, and roast for 15-20 minutes (until it reaches your desired level of doneness).
- When your steaks reach an internal cooked temperature of at least 140 degrees F (for medium rare), remove from the oven, and set aside on a cutting board.
- In the now empty steak pan, melt some butter, and then whisk in an equal amount of flour. Let that slurry cook for about 30-60 seconds. Then, whisk in your juniper stock/broth, and let simmer until it reaches your desired thickness for your sauce.
- As your sauce finishes, slice your steak against the grains.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
