That Busy Girl Life: Venison Recipe - Grilled Backstrap Tenderloin Sandwiches

I grew up in northern Michigan and in my house, November means hunting season; deer to be exact. Pretty much all of the men in my family (and some of the ladies too!) go deer hunting and it is quite uncommon for them to come home empty handed.

Recently, my husband took an interest in hunting and got his first deer over Thanksgiving weekend. This may have been my husband's first deer, but cooking and eating venison has been a tradition in my family for generations and I've got quite a repertoire of recipes. But my husband pointed out to me that venison is not a commonly prepared meat. So if there were a lot of men who brought home deer this season, that probably means there's also a lot of wives out there wondering what to do with it!

Venison "backstrap" is a very tender cut of the deer and is also known as the tenderloin. It's often called the backstrap because it is taken from the section that run down the deer's back. This muscle is rarely used, which is why it is so tender (the rule generally is, the more the muscle is used, the more tough it can be).

The Backstrap Sandwich is as much a tradition in my family as hunting deer itself. It's absolutely delicious and is also a little bit indulgent. You can dress it up real fancy or fix it to be as simple as you like. Make your version of the sandwich to fit your liking and use my recipe as just a guide - I don't usually make them the same each time, anyway.

Ingredients Needed:

Makes about 4 sandwiches

1lb. thinly sliced venison backstrap tenderloin
1 cup bell pepper, julienned
8 oz. canned mushrooms
one clove minced garlic
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Canola oil: about 1 Tablespoon to grill veggies and then enough to cover the bottom of your pan
A few slices of your favorite bread
Your favorite sliced cheese, enough to cover one half of the bread (I used Muenster, it's a great melting cheese)
Your favorite condiment (I used mayo but whole grain mustard or spicy BBQ sauce would also be tasty)
Butter or cooking spray to coat bread before grilling

I realize this looks like a long list of ingredients, but really it's all common stuff you probably have in your cupboard or frig all the time. You know, minus the deer meat.

I used the same pan for each stage of this meal.
Why dirty a bunch of dishes?

Grill the peppers, mushrooms and garlic on high in about 1 Tablespoon oil until peppers are soft and all has been nicely browned. Salt and pepper to taste.

Set aside peppers and mushrooms and, using the same pan, coat the bottom with oil and set over medium heat. Allow oil to come to temperature before adding venison.

While oil is heating up, thoroughly rinse each backstrap medallion, blot excess moisture on paper towel and then set onto a plate.

*I emphasize thoroughly rinsing because you didn't buy this meat in a store. And whether you process your own venison, or someone else does it for you, this will be the first rinsing this meat gets. (Remember; this deer was just in the woods and that's about as organic as it gets, folks.)

In a shallow pan combine the flour, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper. Mix together well.

Then lightly coat each piece of meat by rolling it through the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.

Pieces on the left are medium rare (2 minutes)

Pieces on the right are well done (4 minutes)

Fry the backstraps until they are cooked to your liking. If you like your meat medium rare, cook for TWO minutes per side. If you'd rather have it well done, cook the meat for FOUR minutes each side.

Remove venison from pan and allow excess oil to drip off. I place mine on a rack and let the oil drip off into a baking sheet.

*I used to place them on paper towel to blot the extra oil, but the side that touched the paper towel always ended up soggy. A wise person pointed out to me that's because I was allowing it to sit in the oil I was trying to remove. If you are able to elevate the meat, and let the oil run off, you can maintain its crispiness!

While waiting for the venison to drip dry, slice yourself up some bread. I chose a fancy loaf but heck, you could use Wonderbread if that's what you're in to.

Begin layering your slices with your selected cheese, the peppers and mushrooms and, of course, your backstrap pieces. Pile as high as you want, baby! (Just make sure you can flip it in the pan without it all falling apart!)

I didn't feel like dirtying another pan so I simply poured out the oil (No, not down the sink! Put it in a container.) and just wiped the pan out. I set it over medium heat, sprayed the bottom of the pan with cooking oil spray and then also sprayed the tops of the sandwiches after placing them in. Grill your sandwiches to your preference - if you notice the cheese isn't melting how you'd like it, try covering it with a lid.

And there you have it! It might be one of the world's fussiest grilled cheese and meat sandwiches, but man, is it worth it. Throw a little of your favorite condiment inside, or opt out and just eat it as-is. Blam-o.

LEAVE ME A COMMENT!

Have you ever prepared venison before?

What are your favorite ways to cook it?

What questions do you have about using venison in other dishes?

xoxo,

That Busy Girl