REINDEER, VENISON OR BEEF WITH MUSHROOMS AND BERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the sauce, combine the stock, shallot and 1 cup of the cranberry juice in a small saucepan. Simmer until reduced to about 1/3 cup. It will be very thick and syrupy. Set aside.
• In another small pan, combine the remaining 3/4 cup cranberry juice, lemon juice and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the whole shallots, season with salt and pepper, cover the pan and simmer until the shallots are tender, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Sauté the celery in the butter until crisp-tender. Add the celery to the pan with the reduced stock, along with the whole shallots and the juice they cooked in. Set aside.
• To make the meat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add half the mushrooms and half the shallots. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until all the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Wipe out the skillet, melt the remaining butter and season and cook the remaining mushrooms and shallots.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. (If using beef fillet, which is much larger and thicker than reindeer or venison, have your butcher tie it and cut it into at least 2 sections.) Using the handle of a heavy wooden spoon, make a tunnel as wide as possible through each piece of meat. Fill with the mushroom mixture.
• Season the meat well with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large ovenproof skillet or roasting pan over high heat. Sear the meat on all sides. Transfer to the oven and roast until medium rare (about 8 minutes for reindeer and venison; longer for the beef fillet). Remove and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• To finish the sauce, dissolve the cornstarch in 1 tablespoon of water and add it and the cream to the saucepan. Simmer for a few minutes, stir in the berries and season with salt and pepper. Thin with more stock if necessary.
• Slice the meat and serve it with the sauce.