How should I prep my venison for the grill? Any suggestions on the tenderloin?

Just don't cook them too long, they will dry out. Usually on tenderloins and even the loins, I just cut them into medallions and brown them on both sides in butter. There just ain't enough fat content for much heat.

I had a chef tell me that if you are cooking the meat brown all the way through, you have overcooked it and it wil always be tough. His recommendation was medium rare, and to always let it cool off a few minutes before serving it, as the meat will "relax" as it is cooling and will be tender.

I agree that venison should not be over cooked. Try this, shake Fiesta Fajita Seasoning (not stuff made in NYC) over the meat and put it in the fridge or ice chest for a couple of hours then grill to medium rare.

Or if you have the time, do it the day before, but put the meat in a ziploc bag, add 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped and fill the bag with enough zesty italian dressing to cover the meat. Keep cold for 18-24 hours then grill. You can even use this on beef. I have grilled flank steaks this way and have had people offer me their first born for the recipe.

Also, small or thin cuts cook faster- therefore dry out faster. If you can prepare large cuts - say, the entire backstrap, or the eye of round - then you can cook the whole thing and slice it to serve.

Use a cheap bacon - the kind with a lot of fat - to lay on top of the meat. This will also help.

You can also 'lard' the meat; this means cutting a hole in the meat and placing a strip of fat (say from bacon or other pork fat) into the hole. Cooking fanatics can get larding needles that do this a bit neater.

Remember that you can cook game meat any way that you cook domestic meat; but the game meat will not have the marbleing of fat that the domestic animals have. (This is also true for range-raised poultry, even if it is a domestic breed). Just remember that you:
1.) can't cook the meat dry;
2.) probably can't cook it much past medium, unless you want shoeleather;
3.) need to use marinades, barding (wrapping the meat in fat) and larding;

Game meat is the most expensive meat on the market today. Think about the time and money invested in the hunt, and the fact that IF YOU ARE LUCKY you will have a 40% meat-to-live weight ratio; So if you treat the animal right in the field and the processor does his job, you will also have a meal to be proud of.

Lora is getting off of her soapbox now
(Living with Crazyhorse makes me somewhat of a pontificator, too...)

Bullard,

We make this every year at the deer lease and it is awesome! If you don't want to go through all this trouble, tenderize the backstrap steaks with a hammer then marinate them in oloive oil for a couple of hours. Season them with Tony Chachere's and grill about 2-3 minutes per side. Let them rest in foil for 5 minutes then scarf um down!

(Serves 6-8)

Ingredients :

1 loin Venison backstrap (venison backstrap may be substituted with pork tenderloin or filet mignon)
14 to 16 slices thin sliced bacon
1 large purple onion-peeled and quartered lengthwise then half the quarters lengthwise again.
6-8 large fresh jalapenos-stemmed, seeded and cut in 1/4 lengthwise
1 lb. cake pepper jack cheese- sliced into 1/8 thick by 2"x1/2"wide slices
1 box round toothpicks- remove from box and place in a bowl of water

Remove all sheath, membrane or skin from backstrap. Cut into 12-14-3/4 " thick steaks. Place each steak one at a time on a cutting board. Cover with saran wrap and lightly strike with a tenderizing mallot (shallow stippled faced down), until 1/4" thick. Be careful and try to keep from pounding holes through the meat. Spray with olive oil spray and set aside.

Separate purple onion into 1-2 piece sections-approximately 12-14 sections.

Preparation:

Take 1 slice of tenderized backstrap in one hand. Lay a purple onion slice in center of meat-inside up. Place a slice of cheese on onion piece. Lay a jalapeno quarter face down on cheese. Carefully roll the meat around vegetables and cheese.
Wrap a slice of bacon around the wrap carefully from one end stretching the bacon slice as you wrap, around the meat until you have sealed the whole wrap. Carefully fold in and seal the ends with the moistened toothpicks.


Baste:

Basting brush
1-jar Texas Gourmet Jalapeno Kiwi Jelly
2 T olive oil
1 cup merlot or other dry red wine
2 T Black pepper
1 T sesame seeds
2 T soy sauce
1 T coarse mustard
2 cloves fresh garlic-minced
Heat basting marinade ingredients in a sauce pan until well blended. Remove from heat.

Grilling:

Grill over a mesquite charcoal, or gas fire on medium/high heat. Place the wraparounds indirectly over the heat. Baste liberally, then cook covered for 3-5 minutes per side. Continue basting when turning. When bacon is done, place the wraparounds on a platter and carefully remove all toothpicks.

Great recipes! Personally I don't salt any meat until its done cooking. I think it causes it to dry out a little. I grill loin medalions with a dusting of spices (garlic mix or other) and always coat with olive oil before cooking. Gotta watch them close cause they cook fast and you don't want to let them get past medium (pink in midle). thats why I dont slice the loin any thinner than 3/4". I agree that grilling the whole loin then slicing afterwards helps prevent overcooking. Let the meat "rest" about 10 min after cooking for juices to settle or they will run out with the firts cut into the meat.

I like ttenderizing the round steak too. I like to cook venison over the fire when camping out on another hunt.