Venison Marsala

Venison Marsala is a deep and flavorful recipe that provides a unique way to use your venison steak. (But it would work just as well with beef!)

A Take On The Classic Chicken Marsala

You’ve undoubtedly heard of the Italian-American classic Chicken Marsala: chicken cooked in a Marsala wine reduction with sauteed mushrooms.

That dish is a variation on a classic Italian scaloppine, a dish where thin cuts of meat (most often veal, pork, or chicken) are dredged in flour, sauteed, and served with a wine reduction sauce. Scaloppine is really more of a method than a set dish, and there are many variations throughout Italy.

Marsla wine is often paired with steak or veal in addition to chicken, so we thought, why not venison?

The meaty depth of the venison with the bold flavor of the Marsala wine reduction promised to be a match made in heaven!

How does our Venison Marsala taste?

Move over chicken Marsala, there’s a new Marsala meat in town!

In all seriousness, the deeper flavors of venison pair incredibly well with the Marsala and mushroom sauce. Mushrooms, red wine, dark meat. What more could you ask for in a comforting, hearty dish?

If you’re used to cooking with venison, you know that it can be tricky to get it tender without a long cooking time. In this recipe, pounding the steaks thin takes any toughness out of them, leaving you with simply flavorful meat!

A Simple Marsala

Even though Marsala wine comes with the stigma of culinary grandeur, this dish is actually quite simple to prepare.

A quick pan sear and a ten minute simmer yield a main dish that is moist and full of flavor.  Paired with some rice (or mashed potatoes) and some steamed veggies, it makes for a meal that tastes like you’ve slaved for hours.

Don’t have venison? Make Beef Marsala!

If this dish sounds tasty, and now you’re wishing you had access to some venison meat, don’t worry. Mushrooms and Marsala wine are just as tasty with some beef steak. So, grab a sirloin steak and make beef marsala instead!

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4.62 from 13 votes

Venison Marsala

Venison Marsala is a deep and flavorful recipe that provides a unique way to use your venison steak. (But it would work just as well with beef!)

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 4 people

Author: Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere

Ingredients

• 4 (5oz) venison steaks (or beef sirloin steaks)
• 1/3 c unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 3 c sliced mushrooms
• 1 c Marsala wine
• 1 c beef stock (low sodium)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

• Pound the steaks to ¼ inch thickness, using a meat mallet. (If you are using flat iron beef steaks, there should be no need to pound them, since they should be flat enough already.)
• Place the flour onto a large plate and dredge both sides of the pounded steaks in flour
• Heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat and cook until golden, 1-2 min per side. Remove steaks from frying pan and place on a paper towel lined plate.
• Add 1-2 tsp of olive oil if the skillet looks dry. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2-3 min, until lightly golden. Remove the mushrooms from the pan.
• De-glaze your pan by adding the Marsala wine and stock, scraping up any stuck bits. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5-6 minutes until the mixture has reduced slightly.
• Return the meat and mushrooms to the pan and simmer for 2-4 minutes to heat through.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve over mashed potatoes or white rice with a side of green veggies.

Notes

This recipe was updated February 2017. We made the Marsala even better!

Love venison? Try some of our other venison recipes!

This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We’ve updated our pictures since we first made it, but we’ve left the original image here as a fun throwback and shout out to how far we’ve come. Enjoy! 

Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Sarah is one of Curious Cuisiniere’s founding duo. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.

www.curiouscuisiniere.com/about/