I'm one of those people that waits all year for the temps to drop, for the fires to roar and for the crisp air that comes with each new hunting season. How most people are about getting a giant scoop of their favorite ice cream during the summer, is how this whiskey pan sauce speaks to me during the fall. To me, it's like hunting season in a bite. It's rustic and it's extremely complimentary to a thick venison chop or even a bunch of fresh dove breasts. And although it's easy to make for a large group(recipe below serves 8-10), it can be made to serve 1-2 people if need be.
Honestly, this really isn't even a recipe, it's more of a guide to what I like to do when I'm making bone-in chops. So definitely tweak it to your liking and adjust for how many people you are cooking for.
The real key to this sauce is to have a well seasoned cast iron skillet that you just used to brown your venison chops in, prior to finishing in the oven. Once the chops are in the oven, it's go time on the sauce, so be careful to not wash out this skillet, because that's where all of the good stuff is!
Ingredients:
1 cup of chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup of your favorite whiskey
2 cloves of chopped garlic
4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 cups of heavy cream
2 TBSP of butter
Salt & Pepper to taste
Melt the butter in your skillet and add the chopped onion and season with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Cook until the onion is just beginning to soften, 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes to remove any raw flavor. Add the heavy cream and scrape the bottom of the pan with a spoon to release as much "goodness" that was left from the venison. Remove the pan from the heat and add the whiskey(ALWAYS REMOVE FROM THE HEAT!). Once the whiskey is in, safely flambe to burn off the alcohol and stir until no flames remain. At this point, it's time to add in the thyme. If you're not a thyme fan, rosemary works really well too! I like to throw the entire sprig in, since it will give you the same flavor and is easy to remove as well.
Keep this sauce warm on the side and let your guests spoon it over their chops once they come out of the oven.
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