Properly grilled venison tenderloin, or backstrap, is one of the great rewards of deer hunting, and it is one of the basic skills any deer hunter needs to know.
Grilling meats in general can be tricky, but this is especially true with venison, because it is so lean you have little leeway between perfect and overdone — and overcooked venison is gray, dry and livery. Blech.
By the way, everything I say here for this venison tenderloin recipe also works for elk or antelope, or a fillet mignon of beef, moose or bison.
You can grill any venison steak, but backstrap or loin is a better cut for fast grilling. And here’s your first tip: Keep the venison backstrap whole. Don’t cut it into medallions. Yes, you can grill venison medallions, but they are far harder to grill successfully without drying them out.
Besides, you would be grilling the cut sides of the medallion, leaving the sides pinkish. Not so pretty.
With a whole loin, you grill the sides and then, when you cut into it, you get to see that pink perfection.
So start with a piece of backstrap that’s at least 10 inches long, which is usually about 1 pound. Depending on how wide it is, that will feed 2 to 4 people, depending on how much else you have on the plate. Coat it in olive oil and salt it really well.
Grill over high heat, but with the grill cover open. This is important. You can grill-roast a venison loin, but it will overcook way faster — heat under the grill cover will cook the top of the loin almost as fast as the part that is closest to the fire. I rarely do this, preferring instead to take my time and let the fire do the cooking.
This also lets you baste the meat with your favorite sauce. I often skip this, but I do happen to like my Jack Daniels-based BBQ sauce when I am in the mood for BBQ sauce. A lot of times I will just let fire, salt and smoke flavor the venison, with maybe a splash of lemon at the table.
How do you know it’s done? Use the finger test, which gives you a good idea about the doneness of the center of a piece of meat by touching it with your finger. My friend Elise has a good breakdown of the finger test here.
Lastly, let your grilled venison rest, tented with foil, for at least 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into it. You can wait up to 15 minutes before losing too much heat if your backstrap is very thick. I cannot stress how important this is. Really. If you learn nothing else from this venison tenderloin recipe, remember to rest your meat!
You will thank me later.
Grilled Venison Loin or Backstrap
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 pounds venison loin, ideally in one piece
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Your favorite BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Coat the venison backstrap in oil and salt well. Set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature.
- Get your grill hot, clean the grates and lay the venison on the grill. Paint with the BBQ sauce. Keep the grill cover open. Let this cook 5 to 8 minutes without moving, depending on how hot your grill is and how thick your venison loin is. You want a good sear, with good grill marks, on that side of the meat. Flip and repeat on the other side, painting that side with more BBQ sauce.
- Do the finger test to check for doneness. If the venison needs some more time, turn it to sides that have not had direct exposure to the grill and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes, checking all the way. Paint those sides with BBQ sauce, too.
- When the meat has been cooked to your liking, take it off the fire and let it rest, tented with foil, for 10 minutes. Serve with BBQ sauce on the side.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Hank Shaw. I read the grilling instructions 3xs to make sure I did it right. I’m almost 60 yrs old & have been hunting, fishing, & foraging most of my life here in So Oregon. Today I grilled my last 2pcs of venison backstrap using this recipe. I have always done fry meat, burger or stew meat for venison. It turned out phenomenal! & my family agrees wholeheartedly. I’m probably going to do it this way from now on. not only is it healthier but a hellava lot less messy. Thanks again Jerry
My dad gives me all his hunting meat and I had no idea how to cook it and tried this and am very happy with results thank you!
I tried your recipe today and loved it. Was so easy and tenderloin came out great. Thanks for the tent tip
Best recipe I’ve ever tried! Thank you! I didn’t use bbq I put thyme and a little black pepper and followed your directions and it was amazing.
Take you some backstrap or tenderloin and cut it into small chunks or slices. Mix equal amounts of Worcestershire Sauce and Soy Sauce ( enough to cover your meat in a Ziploc bag. Add a couple of serving spoons of mustard and brown sugar to the liquid and mix well. Add the meat into the marinade and let it sit in the fridge overnight or at least 3-4 hours. Take the meat out and cook it in a deep fryer for a few minutes (doesn’t take too long) and it will literally melt in your mouth. Some of the meat may look burned but it’s not, it just gets dark due to the marinade.
This is a wonderful way to handle venison loin and letting the meat rest for 10 minutes is the way to go.
Gonna give this recipe a try. I have two backstraps frozen. If I could hold till spring, I’d roast ramps and Polk salad.
Tennessee Gal
I used this recipe for both the venison back straps and the tenderloins and everything was perfect for Thanksgiving 2019…yesterday. Thanks for making ME THE STAR!
This was amazing! I’ll never cut loins in medallions again.
Wow amazing recipe I always overcooked my steaks didn’t realize they keep cooking even after off the grill you said
“You will thank me later” and you were correct and the recipe was amazing I always looked for good steak seasonings but they were right under my nose but I also added some Perfect Pinch seasoning for some more flavor but the backstrap was amazing thank you so much for your help and advice god bless
This is the best recipe ever! Super simple with ingredients I always have on hand. Meat was perfect in flavor and tenderness. Trying this on beef filets next. Yum. Thank you for simplifying my dinners.
OMG!!!! The best venison steak we ever had.
I am definitely sticking with this recipe, everyone loved it.
You can actually cut it with a butter knife, it was so tender and juicy.
Thankyou guys for your awesome recipe.