Hirschbraten mit Kartoffelkloesse und Rotkraut

Whole deer back strap with potato dumplings and apple red cabbage

2 lbs deer back strap

4 cups of red wine

1 Tbsp juniper berries

1 Tbsp pepper corns

3 Tbsp dried thyme

4 small carrots, thinly sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

salt/pepper

1 bay leave

¾ cup whole berry cranberry sauce

½ cup heavy cream

Clean the deer strap and put it in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Add the red wine, pepper corns, thyme, carrots, celery, and bay leave. Let the deer meat marinate overnight.

Take the meat out and dry it with a paper towel. Keep the marinate. Crush the juniper berries. Mix the crushed juniper berries with salt and pepper and rub the mixture on the meat.

On medium to high heat brown the meat on all sides. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Take the meat out of the pan and add ¼ cup of the marinate without the vegetables into the pan. Add the vegetables to the pan and brown them a little bit.

Put the meat into a roasting pan and add the vegetables and the rest of the red wine marinate. Cover it and let the meat and vegetables bake for about 60 minutes.

Take the meat out of the roasting pan and keep it warm. Blend the sauce with a handheld mixer until all the vegetables are made into a sauce. Add the cranberry sauce and heavy cream and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Then season the sauce with a some more salt/pepper if necessary.

Serve with red cabbage and potatoes dumplings.