Being from Kentucky, I know my fair share of hunters. I’ve seen bounties of deer brought home, with loads of different cuts of meat to shortly follow. Often, the problem can be that once the meat is brought home, many may not know what to do with it, aside from making a stew of some sort. The truth is, preparing venison isn’t much different than how you would prepare beef. The trick is to use some sort of acid to cut the the gamey flavor of the venison. This recipe uses citrus from limes to get its acid. I know a lot of people are scared to fix venison and you shouldn’t be, it’s quite delicious! Prepared the right way, it can be a great local alternative to your typical proteins.
Grilled Venison with Lime Butter
Recipe Type: Main
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 2 lbs venison tenderloin
- 2 TBSP lime juice
- salt and cracked pepper
- 2 oz softened unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
- 2 tsp grated lime zest
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Make sure venison is trimmed of all sliverskin. This is the the tough connective tissue surrounding muscle that has a silver pearlescent look to it. Removing this makes the meat MUCH more tender. Generously coat both sides of the tenderloin with salt and pepper and pour over 2 TBSP of lime juice. Let the venison marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- While the venison is marinating, combine the softened butter (I like to remove my butter from the fridge at least an hour prior to starting so its nice and soft) with the salt, pepper, lime zest and juice in a small bowl and mix very well to combine. You can leave the butter like that if you wish, but I like to put mine in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and form into a log so I can slice off portions. Put your log of butter into the fridge or freezer until the venison is finished cooking.
- Heat your stove or grill over medium high heat and sear the meat over direct heat on both sides, 5-7minutes per side, depending on your desired level of doneness. I like my venison medium-rare so mine was cooked about 5 minutes per side. When your meat is grilled to your liking, remove it from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing your portions.
- Top your venison medallions with the lime butter and enjoy!
Dawn Johnson
Saturday 23rd of August 2014
I've never been one to eat venison but I would try this recipe. My husband gets at least one deer every year and unless its cooked in barbeque I usually dont like the taste. This would be a great alternative