Venison French Onion Pinwheels
Carmelized onions, gruyere cheese, bourbon...I could eat a bowl of just those three things. But this French onion pinwheel puts to use a cut that often gets turned into grind or stew meat, which is a shame because it stands on its own as a great steak cut. And that cut is the bottom round.
The original recipe from Over the Fire Cooking calls for a flank steak, but if you've ever butchered a deer there isn't much of a flank on one. Instead of a flank, I cut a bottom round lengthwise, then pounded it flat. This gives a similar cut to a flank and multiplies the uses of a bottom round. Using this same technique you can use a top or bottom round for roulades, tacos, or any other recipe calling for flank steak.
Why not use a backstrap? Backstraps, the holy grail of cuts for hunters across the country, are great but are too tender to be pounded thin. This turns them into mush. The hindquarter cuts provide enough structure to stand up to a meat mallet. Being a harder-working muscle they also have more flavor.
- 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup venison broth (can substitute beef broth as well)
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rosemary, finely diced
- 1 head of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 top or bottom round
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 4 slices of swiss cheese
- 3 tablespoons aged white cheddar (gruyere is a good option here)
- 1 tablespoon panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon Romano cheese, finely grated (from a block, not a can)
- Steak Preparation
- Cut the steak in half lengthwise (so it doubles in length), stopping the cut at the last inch so it is still connected.
- Pound it flat with a meat mallet so it is roughly 1/4" to 1/2" thick.
- Season both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder, set to the side.
- Caramelize Onions
- Melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a pan over medium-high heat, then add the sliced onions.
- Season with salt and pepper and saute onions until they reach a dark brown color. Keep them moving so they don't burn.
- Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for 2 additional minutes.
- Add the bourbon and simmer until the alcohol has reduced by half and the alcohol has cooked off.
- Add the broth to the onion mixture along with the brown sugar.
- Simmer until the liquid has reduced and onions are a thickened mixture.
- Assembly
- Lay the cheese out on the steak.
- Add caramelized onions on top of the cheese.
- Starting at one end roll the steak lengthwise.
- Cut this into two pinwheels, using two pieces of kitchen twine tie up the roll so each pinwheel will be secured.
- Cook
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a cast iron pan over medium-high heat, add 1 Tbsp avocado or any high-heat oil.
- Once the pan is smoking hot sear all sides of your pinwheels. Roughly 30 seconds per side.
- Place pan with pinwheels (cut side down) in the oven and bake until internal temp hits 115°F. This should take about 15 minutes but don't go by time. The temperature will continue to rise about 10 degrees when you take it out of the oven. For more of a medium cook remove at 120°F.
- Finish
- Set the oven to broil and move the rack as close to the heating element as possible but still able to fit the pan underneath.
- Mix topping ingredients in a bowl.
- Add topping to the top (cut side) and place under the broiler for 5 minutes or until slightly golden and bubbly.
- Let rest for 15 minutes, remove the string, and enjoy!
