The prized, most coveted piece of meat from a deer is venison backstrap. Learn how to cook venison backstrap with this easy recipe for a tender, juicy and flavorful meal.
Cooking Venison
Cooking venison backstrap is very similar to making a pork tenderloin.
Searing in the outsides to lock in those natural juices before finishing it off in the oven is a favorite way to make a tender venison backstrap.
Preparing Your Backstrap
Make sure the meat is fully defrosted before starting. Trim away any excess silver skin missed during processing.
It by no means needs to be perfect, but any thick pieces will not cook away and tend to be tough and chewy.
Thankfully the backstraps clean up pretty nicely.
The silver skin and tendons are more prominent in the front leg meat, which is a heavily worked area and tends to be more tough and lean.
Venison Backstrap Rub
Make your own
Venison backstraps are great with a dry rub or marinade.
For the dry rub, combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder, parsley flakes, turmeric and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
Next, gently drizzle coconut oil or preferred oil over the top of the backstrap. Finally, coat the meat generously in the dry rub.
Use a seasoning salt blend
Seasoning salt is not my favorite for a rub because it is generously much finer than a homemade rub with a ton of extra ingredients, but will still work.
If you don’t want to make your own, Chef James has a lot of great blends including a five pepper blend that is my personal favorite.
And the marinade
Maybe you don’t like dry rubs, or you’re just trying to get rid of some of that gamey taste. Either way, here is a pretty simple marinade to try.
For the marinade, add 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce to a gallon freezer bag.
Place the backstrap in the bag and let it marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
How to Cook Deer Backstrap in the Oven
Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat up a large cast iron skillet; I use a 12″, which fits the tenderloin perfectly.
Add in 2 tbsp of cooking oil. When the oil starts to smoke, Add the prepared backstrap to the center of the skillet and sear each side; about a minute or so per side being careful not to char the meat.
After the final flip, transfer the skillet to the center rack and bake for 10-15 minutes or until desired internal temperature has been reached.
Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing into medallions and serving.
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Helpful cooking tools
Venison Temperature Cooking Chart
- Rare 125°
- Medium-rare 130°
- Medium 135°
- Medium well 140-145°
- Well done 150-155°
Just note the meat will continue to cook even after its removed from the oven.
I like to pull it out of the oven at about 125-130° as it will usually read 5-10 degrees higher after resting.
Like all meats, venison and elk must be cooked to a proper temperature in order to destroy harmful bacteria or parasites.
Cooking Wild Game
Cooking wild game does not have to be overwhelming or really different from cooking the “ordinary meat” we eat regularly.
The key to cooking wild game such as venison is not to overcook it. Venison is extremely lean meat and can easily dry out or get tough if overcooked.
The toughest meat on a deer is from the front quarters or front legs. A lot of tendons and silver skin runs through this meat and it is best slow-cooked in stew or ground into burger.
The hindquarters or back legs are where you’ll get most of your steaks that are great grilled or pan-seared.
And, of course, the backstrap. What is the backstrap?
The backstrap is the meat that runs along either side of the spine and should not be confused with the tenderloin. This is often the most prized cut of meat from a deer.
How Long Does Venison Last in the Freezer?
Properly packaged venison should easily last for a full year in the freezer. Never refreeze thawed meat.
How Long Does Venison Last in the Fridge?
Cooked venison will last 3-4 days in the Refridgerator.
Be Sure to Check Out These Dinner Favorites
- Venison Medallions
- Garlic Butter Ribeye
- Slow Cooked Round Steaks
- Pan-Seared Beef Heart
- Smothered Round Steaks
- Restaurant Style Fajitas Texanas
Dry Rub Venison Backstrap Recipe
An easy and delicious way to cook venison backstrap with a delicious dry rub.
Ingredients
- 1 venison backstrap, approx 2 lbs
- 3 tbsp of cooking oil
- 1.5 tsp salt
- ½ tsp of pepper, paprika, dried rosemary, garlic and onion powder.
- ¼ tsp of cayenne pepper
- ⅛ tsp of turmeric
Instructions
- Combine spices in a small bowl and mix well.
- Prepare backstrap by drizzling it with 1 tbsp of oil, then generously coating with the dry rub.
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium to medium-high heat with the remainder of the oil.
- Once the oil starts to smoke, sear the meat on all sides—approximately a minute per side.
- Transfer the skillet to the center rack of the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the desired doneness has been achieved using an instant thermometer.
- Remove from skillet and let rest for 10 minutes before enjoying.
Found a frozen venison backstrap in my dad’s freezer. I generally do dry rub beef steaks so followed this method with my own rub. 1 minute per side in the skillet and 11 minutes in the oven for perfect medium rare. Mouthwatering!
I was a little nervous trying this one but it turned out absolutely perfect! Just make sure you don’t over cook it, internal temp of 130 is when I take it out. This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thank you!
Followed the dry rub recipe and very happy with the result. Let the meat to come to room temperature before searing to a dark brown. Took about three minutes per side. Reserved 1 T of the oil from the skillet and used to make gravy. Cooked for 13 minutes in the oven and allowed the meat to rest as per the recipe. So juicy and flavorful. Ends were medium and center was rare. Perfect combo for us.
How did you make your gravy?
Love to try this
Can you do the dry rub and marinade for the tenderloin?……..Meaning put the tenderloin in marinade overnight or at least 8-12 hrs. and then do the dry run before cooking. Also, is it best to let tenderloin come to room temperature as you do beef tenderloin before searing?
Delicious! Made some mods to the rub but regardless, only left in oven for 5 minutes and the strap was medium tender and juicy!!
So glad to hear! The bake time is largely affected by the size and thickness of the strap. I’m happy it turned out well for you!
Used this method tonight for an elk backstrap and it was fabulous! Of course it took longer to cook but it was just perfect.
You could reduce your cooking time. Venison is actually good medium, medium-rare since it has little to no fat marbling. Glad to know the method posted causes too much drying. Have a great holiday!
I thought it was absolutely fabulous!!!
Is it ok to dry rub and refrigerate overnight? I have done this with beef, but realize venison is a bit dryer. Thank you!
I to have done this with beef, but not with venison. I don’t see why it would not be ok though. If you try it, let me know how it turns out.
I only let it sit for an hour with your dry rub concoction and holy smokes was it outstanding! I seared it in oil & a bit of sweet cream butter. Opted for a roasting pan with rack over the cast iron. Took the pan drippings and drizzled them over the loin pre-oven; covered the bottom of the pan with water to lock in moisture – covered with foil, 15 minutes in a convection oven. It’s too cold where I am to grill but we weren’t disappointed AT ALL! Thank you! Happy Holidays:)
I made 2 pieces of red deer, one with the dry rub and one with the marinade.
Both came out fantastic for me, we really enjoyed the rosemary flavor in the dry rub!
I did let both pieces rest covered for about 15 minutes before slicing
So happy to hear you enjoyed it!
I agree! And once it warms back up, I’ll be rocking the grill as well.