One of my favorite pieces of venison to cook is the backstrap (or loin). This is the piece of meat that hunters crave. It’s one of the most tender cuts. If you’ve had it and not really enjoyed it, chances are that when it was butchered the silvery, connective tissue that surrounds that cut was not removed. If the meat was wrapped in butcher paper some folks leave the silvery sheath on the meat until thawing. This is said to help protect the meat from possible freezer burn. Once the meat thaws (or is partially thawed) remove as much as that silvery sheath as possible. We vacuum package our venison and that sheath is removed before freezing.

Grant shows how to remove the loin in this video.

The backstrap is great on the grill. The simplest way to grill it is to marinade it (find my favorite venison marinade recipe here) and grill over low heat. Some folks like their backstrap rare, while others like it well done. The bonus of the back strap is that it lends itself to all tastes as the thin “ends” will be well done while the thicker middle is medium rare to rare. Some chefs recommend cooking quickly over high heat and only serving grilled venison rare. However, rare just isn’t to everyone’s taste. For our family, low and slow on the grill works to keep everyone happy with the meat that goes on their plate.

A tip from a friend that is a “grill master” is to take the meat off the grill a couple of minutes before it reaches the degree of doneness desired and let it rest, wrapped in foil on a platter for 5 to 15 minutes before cutting. If you want to serve a fancier loin try Bacon Wrapped Backstrap!

I’ve never used a dry rub as a marinade but understand they can be good for tenderizing and adding flavor. I cook most everything as low sodium as possible. Most dry rub recipes rely on salt as the tenderizer. That’s the same reason I don’t brine any of our wild game. It works well but that sodium (salt) is not worth it when there are other methods available.

I would love to hear your favorite ways to cook venison. Let us know by posting your comments to this post on our social media.

Cooking venison for the family,

Tracy