Grilled Venison Tenderloin
Submitted by cutie
Grilled venison tenderloin marinated three days in red wine vinegar, rose, and bay. The technique that turns lean wild game into juicy, medium-rare filets straight off the coals.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
10READY
72 hrsVenison tenderloin is one of the leanest cuts you can cook over fire, which makes it both a prize and a hazard. Cook it past medium rare and it turns into shoe leather. Skip the marinade and the gamey edge dominates. This recipe handles both problems with a 72-hour wet brine.
The marinade is acid-forward by design. Red wine vinegar and rose wine break down the connective tissue of wild game, while the onion, garlic, bay, and peppercorns infuse the lean muscle with the kind of complexity store-bought beef just doesn’t have. Three days is the magic number for tenderloin filets cut to a half inch.
Asking your butcher to pull the silver skin is the step that separates a pro result from an amateur one. That thin connective sheath turns leathery on the grill and ruins the bite no matter how tender the meat underneath.
Basting throughout the cook is a must. Venison has almost no intramuscular fat to keep it juicy, so brushing on reserved marinade keeps the surface moist while the coals do their work.
Chef Tips
- Use a glass or ceramic dish for the marinade, the acid in the vinegar will react with aluminum and leave metallic off-flavors
- Pat the filets bone dry before they hit the grate, wet meat steams and refuses to sear
- Aim for an internal temperature of 130°F (54°C) for medium rare, anything higher and the meat seizes
- Rest the filets five minutes before slicing to let the juices redistribute
Variations
- Swap the rose wine for dry red wine like a pinot noir for a deeper, more savory marinade
- Add a tablespoon of juniper berries to the marinade for a classic Bavarian wild-game profile
- Finish with a pat of compound butter (garlic, thyme, lemon zest) melted over the hot filets just before serving
Ingredients
Directions
Ask your butcher or game processor to remove the fat to reduce the gamy taste.
Also ask to have the silver skin or white muscle fiber removed.
For the marinade, mix all wet and dry ingredients until blended.
Add the onions and stir.
Place the filets into a shallow non reactive dish.
Pour the marinade onto the filets, cover and refrigerate for 72 hours, turn the meat over once a day.
Remove the filets from the dish and place on paper towels to dry off the marinade before you light the grill.
Reserve the remaining marinade for a basting sauce.
Place charcoal in a pyramid shape and light with either lighter fluid, electric starter or chimney starter.
Wait until coals are gray and spread in a single layer for the direct heat method.
Spray grid with non-stick spray and let grid heat over the hot coals (the hotter the grid, the less chance the food will stick).
Place filets on the grid. Grill for 6 to 7 minutes, baste with the marinade and turn, grill 5 to 6 more minutes, baste again with the marinade until it is cooked to medium rare.
The filets cook very quickly, the cooking time should be less than 13 minutes depending on if you like them rare or medium rare.
Venison is very lean to begin with so basting is a must in this instance.
It will not have the maximum flavor if cooked to the medium well or well done stage.
Suggested Wine: Von Stiehl Dry Cherry
Comments
