RE: what do you do with your backstrap?
 

I will trade ANYONE who turns backstrap into jerky 3 pounds of deer roast for every 1/2 pound of backstrap! Making backstrap into jerky is like making filet mignon into jerky BIG NO NO. As far as how I cook back strap I use all of the above (cept the jerky part). Almost any way you cook it is excellent!

RE: what do you do with your backstrap?
 

My personal fav. is to marinate them in butter and brown sugar (overnight if you can wait), melt the butter and add brown sugar to dissolve it. Then I wrap them in bacon and toothpicks and cook very slowly (for at least an hour)on the grill on some nonstick tin foil. I set the grill on low and prop the lid open about 6 inches. Also while they are cooking I baste them in barbeque sauce. You will have the neighbors mouths watering!! They are DELICIOUS! I have had many people who dont care for venison try them and they love em. good luck and enjoy!

RE: what do you do with your backstrap?
 

I just grilled one up...cut in half, marinade in terriaki sauce and a little garlic powder for 30min...put it on a hot grill (mine says 500 degrees)...and cook to medium. Slice in 1/2 inch medalions and be ready to defend them because everyone will want them.

Try some olive oil, Montreal Steak seasoning and a little Worcestershire sauce. Stay close to the grill as the olive oil can get the flames going. Like SwampThing says, keep it medium rare at the most.

Outstanding!

butterfly then throw them on the grill what eles do you need to do? keep them RARE its meat you need the blood...

I use Montreal Steak Seasoning, also. I use soy sauce instead, tho. The recipe is on the side of the bottle. I marinate a whole loin over night, let come to room temp., throw on the grill til pink in the middle, let rest for 5 minutes, and slice into chops as wanted. Easiest and tastiest marinade I have found.

I can tell you what not to do..DON'T Cook IN Crock Pot..dries it out


I fry bacon to get grease...Cut in 1/4 inch thick pieces..salt and pepper or Montreal Steak Seasoning
QUick fry.
Say Blessing.
THEN bring skillet to table and serve..BEST when served HOT out of the pan

Totally agree about the crockpot. I only cook deer (from older deer) in the crockpot if it is a stew. I fixed some today with taters, carrots, onion, celery, and plenty of gravy. Hits the spot on a cold and windy day like today.

I also cook loin sliced into chops then marinated as I posted above. I then sear chops on both sides on high heat (let your pan pre-heat before putting in chops) then take the pan off of the heat put the lid on and let set for about 5 minutes. Turns out tender every time. Atleast for the yearling and young doe loins.

one of my favorites:

Cut into medallions, heat up butter, onions, garlic, and mushrooms in a cast iron skillet, drop the steaks in and drizzle gravy master overtop, mixing it in, (gravy master is found near the other gravies and spices in supermarkets, little orange capped bottle), cook for a little until meat is cooked to your liking, serve with whatever sides you want, they won't be touched until the meat is gone.

A little off from backstraps, but for good italian pulled sandwiches:
Take roasts from hind quarters, cook in roaster with beef broth onions, garlic until meat is falling apart. Pull the meat apart and put in crockpot, add peppers, onions, mushrooms, italian seasoning, splash of liquid smoke or worscheister sauce, and the rest of the beef broth from the roaster, may need to add a little more if there isn't much left, and let cook on high setting for an hour or so, until the peppers and onions have softened up some, serve on a bun. Add a piece of american cheese if you want. Mouth watering sandwiches.

I tried this as a trial last year and I have done a couple more and it's been a big hit. I soak the whole backstrap overnight in a marinade 1 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and Montreal steak seasoning. Then I fill my smoker with bark from my hickory tree and smoke them until they reach about 135 degrees. I take them off and let them sit for a few more minutes and then slice them as desired. I doe the loins the same way and they usually cook in about 15-20 minutes in the smoker. We snack on them until the backstraps are done (30 minutes to and hour depending on how big they are). I usually keep my smoker at about 275. This is one of those recipes that I can feed to women and children that swear they would never eat deer meat and they love it.

Dude U just answered your own question!!! just cook it so it tastes good for U...if it ain't broke don't worry about fixin it.
I have never understood folks that go to all the trouble of covering up the taste of venison!!!! If ya don't like it don't go hunting and shoot a deeer!!!!
Now if they are hunting in the rut then I can understand tryin to cover up the taste, as far as I'm concerned a deer in the ruts just basicly dog food!!! hell we had a yellow lab wouldn't even eat it!!!!! LOL!!!!!!

I got a new recipe from a pro on HNI..After I try it..I will share..Sounds like some work..but he's been huning forever and swears the club members fight over it..

I cook mine lkke Christine as well..I don't know why but my buck this year..was..well tough is an understatement..this new recipe is supposed to take care of tough...

I plan to try this on Christmas Eve..I will only share the recipe if it's a 5 STAR WINNER!!!

backstrap I generally steak, put montreal seasoning and sear rare on a real hot fire.

Tenders: I try and keep em whole. This year I took my elk tenders and made a mushroom duxelle, seared the tenders, laid them one atop the other and wrapped in phyllo dough and backed for 20 min, made a great wellington.

Well..my ole buck was tough so....

I bought a cuber off of Walmart Online for 97.00

I cut loin in 1/2 inch thick slices..
run through cuber once..
Heat a cast iron with a 2 slices of bacon
Salt and pepper medalions
Quick fry both sides and ..they are cut with a fork tender..taste is wonderful

cut it into cubes, wrap it in bacon, grill it.....you can also put pepper jack once it's done if you want.....great stuff

1. I cut the backstrap into 3/4" thick steaks, usually at the time I'm preparing them for cooking (when I butcher, I keep the backstrap whole, maybe cutting a meal-sized piece into two pieces to make the package more conveniently shaped).

2. I marinade overnight in 1/2 cup pinot noir (red) wine, 8 crushed juniper berries, 1/2 teaspoon of thyme , and 1/2 bay leaf crumbled. I put this in a plastic zip-lock back, press out the surplus air, and zip it closed. I then store in the refrigerator overnight.

3. The next day I begin a sauce by taking 1/2 cup of pinot noir wine, 1 cup of game broth (substitute chicken broth if you don't have any game broth -- I save my ribs and odd meat trimmings when butchering, simmer this with leek, onion, parsley, carrots for awhile; remove the bones and vegetables after about an hour or two; then I boil this down rapidly. I skim any fat -- usually not much, pour off the relatively clear liquid and leave the cruddy stuff in the bottom of the pot; the clear liquid I store in small zip-lock bags in 1 cup quantities and freeze), 6 crushed juniper berries, 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, a 1/2 bay leaf crumbled. I boil this stuff to reduce the volume of liquid to about 1/2 to 3/4 cup. I then set aside covered.

4. I make some clarified butter by melting sweet unsalted butter in a small pan or small skillet. I skim the scum off the top and throw away. I pour off the clear yellow liquid into a cup or small bowl, leaving the milky-looking solids at the bottom in the pan. This clear liquid stuff is referred to as "clarified butter" and can be cooked at a higher temperature without burning.

5. I drain the steaks and throw away the marinade. I pat the steaks dry on paper towels. I salt and pepper the steaks on both sides. I then dredge them in a light coating of flour. I heat some of the clarified butter in a skillet until it is pretty hot -- you will learn over time how hot to make it. I then put in a first flight of the steaks and cook about 90 seconds per side. This cooking time needs to adapt to both the heat of the skillet and the thickness of the steaks. For me, 90 seconds per side is about enough. Cook both sides. Check the doneness of one of the steaks by cutting into the middle with a sharp knife. The interior should remain pink or even redish. Put the cooked steaks on a pre-warmed plate and cover to keep warm. It is likely that the steaks will continue to cook just a bit further after removing from the pan. Cook the remainder of the steaks in this same way, adding more clarified butter when needed.

6. With the steaks out of the pan, pour the sauce liquids into the frying pan and stir to lift up the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pour in 1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream. Keep stirring while this bubbles. When the cream sauce has thickened to your liking -- it takes me about 5 minutes on relatively high boil (stir! man, stir!!!) -- pour into a sauce bowl and serve the steaks and the sauce at once. Oh, also, just before you pour off the sauce, adjust the salt to your taste. If you salt earlier, the sauce will become saltier as liquid boils off, thus salt only at the end.

This sounds like a lot of work, but it really isn't. I have explained at length because some of these techniques may be unfamiliar to people here. The result is delicious. Drink the pinot noir with the steaks.

I throw away the marinade liquid because I have found some of the protein leaches out of the steaks while marinading, and when I make a sauce with this liquid, the protein creates a thick foaming scum that is unattractive. This doesn't hurt the flavor, but it makes the sauce kind of a funny texture and looks lumpy. The cost is just the loss of the 1/2 cup of wine -- big deal.