SPORTING ANSWERS
How to avoid a soggy bottom
GAME COOKING
Q I want to make a venison Wellington with the loin of a deer I shot recently. Can you suggest a foolproof way to make this work? Last time I tried, the meat was overcooked and the pastry soggy on the bottom.
A This is tricky to answer because you have not said which species of deer the loin was taken from. This makes cooking time advice nigh on impossible to provide, because different species of deer need to cook for different amounts of time.
However, the only really foolproof way would be to cook the venison separately along with some rounds of pastry and cobble it all together at the end, but this is sort of beyond the point.
Here’s some general advice for making Wellingtons:
Step 1. Sear and season the meat well before wrapping in pastry.
Step 2. Make sure your mushroom paste isn’t too wet.
Step 3. Roll the pastry thinly.
Step 4. Allow the whole Wellington to rest in the fridge before cooking, but also allow time for it to come back to room temperature before you bake it.
Once it is cooked, you should allow the Wellington to sit for eight to 10 minutes before attempting to carve it. This gives
