Ingredients:

Venison loin (backstrap)
Olive oil
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Rosemary
Oregano
Thyme
Salt
Butter

Directions:

• Fill cooler with enough hot water to completely submerge the vacuum bag. (I was cooking for medium rare, so 128 – 130 F is where I kept my water.)
• Lightly oil the loin and season to taste with the pepper, garlic powder, rosemary, oregano and thyme. (You will add the salt before the sear as salt will draw moisture from the meat and we don’t want that.)
• Seal the loin in a vacuum bag (a zipper bag will work too, just try and get as much air out as possible).
• Place the loin in the cooler of hot water and close the lid.
• Let it soak at least 2 hrs, but there is no harm in letting it go longer, as the temperature of the water will not let it overcook. My loin cooked for 4 hours.
• Monitor the temperature using a remote thermometer placed in the water, adding heated water as necessary.
• Once done soaking in the water bath, remove the loin from the vacuum bag and season with salt. (I recommend Real Salt from Redmond Mineral.)
• Sear either over high direct heat on a grill or in a very hot, heavy skillet with some butter.
• After the meat is seared, remove from the heat and loosely cover with foil and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
• Once the meat has rested, slice it and serve along with your favorite side dishes.

Note on cooking method: Sous vide is a French term meaning “under vacuum”. The meat is cooked in a vacuum sealed bag using a temperature controlled water bath, then seared either on the grill or in a skillet. The beauty of this method is the ability to control the final temperature of the meat and evenly cook the meat all the way through. Cooking sous vide is commonplace at high end restaurants with high dollar equipment. However, it can be done at home with a simple cooler, some hot water and a remote thermometer.

This recipe is compliments of Brandon Pittman, a GrowingDeer Pro Staffer.

Warning: This post contains information about sous vide cooking. The USDA recommends cooking raw meat to an internal temperature of at least 145 F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source AND allowing meat to rest for at least three minutes before consuming.