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The Best Venison Backstrap Recipe is cast iron seared and coated in a flavorful dry rub and then cooked until medium rare in a skillet. This is a recipe is for everyone, whether you are a seasoned venison lover or new to cooking with deer meat.
If you are looking for an easy way to prepare the most tender cut of deer meat, this is your answer! Perfect for a weeknight dinner or special occasion.
Every hunting season we are all hoping the freezer is about to get restocked with lots of deer meat. My husband, father in law, and brother in law, hunt every year and always bring back a great harvest.
My father in law also used to be a butcher, which is a great blessing to us, because it means he completely breaks down the deer for us and prepares all different cuts from ground, to roasts, to backstraps.
Ground deer meat is one of my favorites because of its versatility to use in almost any recipe that calls for ground beef with a few modifications. But venison backstraps? Those are the cream of the crop and many people's favorite cut!
What is venison backstrap?
The backstrap is the meat that runs along the spine of the deer. There are two backstraps per deer. This cut of venison is often prized as the best of the lot.
This cut of meat is incredibly tender and is compared to the filet mignon of the deer.This is because the muscle does not get worked much by the animal. The backstrap has little to no fat, which is why it can dry out easily if overcooked.
This is not the same cut as the tenderloin, though they can be prepared similarly. The deer tenderloins lie underneath the spine and are smaller.
Best way to cook venison backstrap
- cast iron (That is this recipe)
- grilled (You can use the seasonings for this recipe and simply cook it on a hot grill instead of the cast iron skillet)
- sous vide (another personal favorite, you can find instructions for sous vide venison here!)
- Sliced into medallions and topped with a balsamic glaze.
Because venison is so lean and easy to over cook, I find the best way to cook it is either on high heat very quickly or using sous vide method so there is complete temperature control. These instructions for cooking venison backstrap are simple to follow and don't require any special tools or skills.
Ingredients
- Venison backstrap
- olive oil
- onion powder
- dried thyme leaves
- paprika
- sea salt
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1. To a small bowl, add onion powder, dried thyme leaves, paprika, and sea salt.
Step 3. Once the meat is at room temperature, pat dry with paper towels and coat liberally with oil.
Step 4. Press spice mixture into the deer meat until fully coated.
Step 5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 6. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium to medium high heat. Place seasoned backstrap on to the hot skillet and brown. The goal is a nice deep sear, cook for 2-3 minutes per side, only touching the meat to flip it.
Step 7. Once seared, place in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes to cook deer backstrap to desired doneness level. Remove from the oven when the internal temperature of the meat reaches between 120 and 125 degrees fahrenheit.
Step 8. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. The meat will continue cooking and rise 5-10 degrees during this time.Slice rested meat and enjoy your perfectly cooked venison.
Recipe Tip
Begin by taking your deer backstrap out of the fridge and placing it out on the counter to come up to room temperature. This is a very important step to make sure you are able to cook venison backstraps to rare or medium rare without having them be over cooked on the outside and completely raw in the middle.
Temperature for cooking deer meat
While certain cuts of deer meat, like ground venison, are a little more forgiving, the backstrap is something you definitely want to have on the rare side. Because venison is so lean,cooking it to more than medium-rarewill run you the risk of the meat being tough.
But rare to medium rare venison backstrap, that cuts like butter and will absolutely melt in your mouth. So tender!
When preparing, cook toan internal temperature of 120 degrees which will allow the venison to carryover cook a few degrees and settle because 125-130.
How to Serve
Serve this easy venison backstrap like you would serve a delicious pot roast or beef tenderloin. I love it simply prepared with mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes and a veggie like peas or steamed broccoli.I also love it with this classic potato salad recipe.
More venison recipes
- sous vide venison tenderloin
- venison medallions
- Ground Venison Meatballs
If you tried thisVenison Backstrap Recipeor any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟star ratingand let me know how it goes in thecommentsbelow. I love to hear from you.
The Best Venison Backstrap Recipe
Sarah Baumeister
Learn how to cook venison backstrap simply by coating it in a dry rub and searing in a cast iron skillet until perfectly cooked.
4.74 from 19 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course venison
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 209 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb. venison backstrap
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. onion powder
- ½ tbsp. paprika
- 1 tbsp. flaky sea salt
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
Instructions
Begin by taking your deer backstrap out of the fridge and placing it out on the counter to come up to room temperature. This is a very important step to make sure you are able to cook venison backstraps to rare or medium rare without having them be over cooked on the outside and completely raw in the middle.
Once the meat is at room temperature, pat dry with paper towels and coat liberally with oil. Combine spices for dry rub and press spice mixture into the deer meat until fully coated.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium to medium high heat. Place seasoned backstrap on to the hot skillet and brown. The goal is a nice deep sear, cook for 2-3 minutes per side, only touching the meat to flip it.
Once seared, place in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes to cook deer backstrap to desired doneness level. Remove from the oven when the internal temperature of the meat reaches between 120 and 125 degrees fahrenheit.
Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. The meat will continue cooking and rise 5-10 degrees during this time.
Slice rested meat and enjoy your perfectly cooked venison.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 209kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 35gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 1811mgFiber: 1g
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