Best Backstrap Ever!

Twisted Canuck · #1 10-06-2010, 08:56 PM

I just finished eating my venison tenderloin, from a nice fat Mulie doe I took Sunday night, and am sitting here with a dopey satisfied grin on my mug.....thought I'd share my new favorite tenderloin recipe with you!

I'm not a 'measuring' kind of chef, or a 'look up a recipe' chef, or truthfully, any kind of chef at all. I just kind of throw this or that together. So for my tenderloin, I finally broke down and did something I'd been thinking of doing for while, but didn't have the right cut of meat for. To begin, I totally cleaned the venison, no tendon or fat whatsoever. Then, I soaked it for about 20 minutes in salt water (just a pinch of sea salt) with crushed ice in it, to draw out any blood and take a bit of the gamey taste out. Pat dry on towel, put in marinating container. Add enough good whisky to cover (this was the slightly painful part, as it takes a good cup and a half. A worthy sacrifice!) I used a ten year old Agnoc. A nice whisky but I never really took to the dry finish. Great for marinade though. Then, lots of fresh coarse ground pepper. Top off with a healthy dose of carefully hoarded maple syrup from a dear friend! *( He helps his uncle tap and then boil syrup on their family's maple land in Quebec! Sends me a litre a year.).

Let marinate for about twenty hours or so......then, heat cast skillet, add in lots of butter, a couple tablespoons of finely chopped garlic and onions, cook till brown, then sear tenderloins on high heat for about a minute and a half on each side. Remove from skillet, put in sauce pan with a cup of nice red wine *(I used my own Pinot Noir, I make my own wine, my favorite so far), a drizzle of maple syrup on top, and let simmer until just a little pink inside. Use wine and dripping to make a nice creamy mushroom sauce, a bit of Montreal steak spice, serve over Basmati rice.....Heavenly. Not having ever been formally trained to cook, I suppose a chef might find this a bit of an odd recipe, but my taste buds were seriously impressed! The whisky flavor is suble, but still very much there, and the maple adds a very nice sweetness to counterpoint the pepper.

So, simply put, the whisky, maple syrup and pepper are a fabulous blend. I will definately be doing this again. I was thinking of doing this with my Bison tenderloin, but suspect that it will take over a litre of whisky to marinate properly, and don't think I can bring myself to make that kind of sacrifice. But for a venison tenderloin....Absolutely!

acedave3 · #2 10-06-2010, 09:21 PM

Thanks for your advice, but I personally ,(without sarcasim intended), like the taste of venison.

Twisted Canuck · #3 10-06-2010, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acedave3

Thanks for your advice, but I personally ,(without sarcasim intended), like the taste of venison.

Yeah, me too. And you can still taste the venison.....Just not venison all by it's lonesome. Don't you put salt and pepper, or something on it? Why not try something else?

BlackHeart · #4 10-06-2010, 10:03 PM

Sounds good. I like to cut the backstrap in 1 to 1.5 inch thick cuts (after all silver skin removed. Then wrap bacon around them, tie up with a string and cook medium rare on the grill. The best filet mignon I have ever tasted. Better than beef. Some times the deer back strap is too small so I put a small piece of bacon between two cut and then wrap them together making a larger filet.

But your sauce/pre prep sounds very good. Especially if they are wild mushrooms sauce served over the grilled filet mignon. Next time.

The Fisherman Guy · #5 10-06-2010, 10:43 PM

That sounds like a terrific recipe!! I like the idea of the whiskey and maple, awesome contrast!

I have found that by using ziploc bags, I don't need to prepare a huge amount of marinade to cover the meat if it's in a dish. I put the meat in the smallest bag it will fit in, and fill the remainder with the marinade. Then I remove the excess air, and seal it up! Hang it between two shelves in the fridge, to keep the meat surrounded with marinade, and give it a shake every now and again to agitate and activate the marinade!

This will keep more whiskey in your cup, and less down the drain!

Twisted Canuck · #6 10-06-2010, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

That sounds like a terrific recipe!! I like the idea of the whiskey and maple, awesome contrast!

I have found that by using ziploc bags, I don't need to prepare a huge amount of marinade to cover the meat if it's in a dish. I put the meat in the smallest bag it will fit in, and fill the remainder with the marinade. Then I remove the excess air, and seal it up! Hang it between two shelves in the fridge, to keep the meat surrounded with marinade, and give it a shake every now and again to agitate and activate the marinade!

This will keep more whiskey in your cup, and less down the drain!

I like how you think, FG! I'll have to try this, maybe that will put the bison tenderloin into the realm of possibility with this marinade! It will still take a bit, because it does 'infuse' the meat, but it sure tastes good!

omega50 · #7 10-07-2010, 11:21 AM

I liked reading the recipe because you obviously have a connection to all of the ingredients that you used.
Makes it all taste better when you know where everything came from.

omega50 · #8 10-07-2010, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

That sounds like a terrific recipe!! I like the idea of the whiskey and maple, awesome contrast!

I have found that by using ziploc bags, I don't need to prepare a huge amount of marinade to cover the meat if it's in a dish. I put the meat in the smallest bag it will fit in, and fill the remainder with the marinade. Then I remove the excess air, and seal it up! Hang it between two shelves in the fridge, to keep the meat surrounded with marinade, and give it a shake every now and again to agitate and activate the marinade!

This will keep more whiskey in your cup, and less down the drain!

Chef's in a hurry will regularly cryo-vac meat with a little bit of marinade and get the advantages of 24 hours in marinade in about 20 minutes.

beansgunsghandi · #9 10-07-2010, 10:15 PM

That sounds really, really good. I too like ingredients I have some sort of history with, one of the reasons I really like hunting. Nice one. Think I'll have a drink and a snack.