Elk with Fruity Sauce

For the sauce: Boil the veal stock with the rinsed currants, red wine, cinnamon, thyme, juniper berries and sugar. Simmer at medium heat to reduce to about half the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 125°C (approximately 260°F).

For the elk: Coarsely grind the juniper berries in a mortar. Mix the ground juniper with the ginger, thyme, chili pepper, brown sugar and salt. Rinse the elk fillet, pat dry, trim to remove fat and sinews, then cut into 5 cm thick slices (approximately 2 inches). Rub each piece on all sides with the spice mixture, then fry in 2 tablespoons of hot butter in a roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest piece. Cook for about 20 minutes, until a core temperature of 60°C is reached (approximately 140°F). Remove from the oven and cover with foil to rest for 10 minutes.

Rinse the cherries and remove the pits, then mix them into the sauce and heat it. Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch (mixed with a little cold water). Clean the mushrooms, cut into slices and fry until brown in a pan in the remaining hot butter. Season with salt and pepper.