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1
In a heavy saucepan, brown the venison trimmings and mirepoix over high heat until deeply coloured on all sides. The fond on the base of the pan should be dark and dry, not pale or wet.
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2
Deglaze with the wine vinegar, scraping up all the fond. Add the red wine, bring to a boil, and reduce by half. The liquid should smell sharp and vinous, not raw.
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3
Add the demi-glace and crushed peppercorns. Simmer steadily, uncovered, until the sauce is dark, intensely savoury, and carries a pronounced pepper heat. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing the solids firmly. The strained poivrade should be glossy and deep brown.
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4
Return the strained poivrade to a clean saucepan. Add the heavy cream and reduce over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reaches nappante consistency — it coats the back of a spoon and holds a clean line when a finger is drawn across it. This is where the dish lives or dies: reduce too little and the cream dilutes the game intensity; reduce too far and the sauce pales and thickens to a stew. The colour must remain dark brown, the pepper present but smoothed.
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5
Remove the pan from the heat entirely. Whisk in the redcurrant jelly in two stages, tasting after the first addition. The jelly must never meet a boiling sauce: it will foam and incorporate unevenly. The finished sauce should taste of game, pepper, and fruit in distinct, successive layers, with no single element dominant.
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6
Hold the finished sauce warm, off direct heat. At plating, the sauce should coat the venison with a glossy, dark film carrying a burgundy tinge from the redcurrant jelly.