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Grilled Venison Tenderloin is a simple and easy venison recipe that highlights how tender and juicy fresh deer meat can be. Seasoned simply with my favorite venison rub and grilled to a perfect medium rare there’s no gamey venison to be found here!
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Venison tenderloin is truly one of the best cuts of deer around. Every year during hunting season I look forward to stocking my freezer with the fresh venison my husband gets for us. We always celebrate a successful season with a great venison tenderloin meal!
More of our favorite venison meals include delicious grilled venison backstrap or a gorgeous pan seared venison tenderloin with garlic herb butter. And let’s not forget red wine venison stew and venison spaghetti!
Ingredients for this recipe
Salt is crucial
Salting the venison tenderloin in advance of cooking is one of the most important steps of this recipe. It helps to make the steak juicier and more tender. Here’s how that works:
When salt is sprinkled onto meat, it releases its natural juices. This juice in turn dissolves the salt. The dissolved salt and juice are reabsorbed into the steak. This process tenderizes the meat by breaking down muscle fibers and connective tissues.
Properly seasoned steaks will also be dryer on the outside, reducing the amount of steam while cooking. Less steam helps to create those gorgeous grill marks we’re looking for with grilled tenderloin!
Grilling Venison Tenderloin
This is just a brief overview, find detailed instructions in the recipe card below!
Tips for Perfectly Grilled Venison Tenderloin
- Pat the tenderloin dry. This will get rid of any old blood that can make the deer taste gamey as well as ensure the seasoning will properly stick to the steak.
- Season the deer steaks in advance. This makes all the difference, even just 30 minutes before cooking!
- Let the steak warm up. After thawing or refrigerating, remove steaks 1 hour before cooking. You do not want to put cold protein onto a hot grill.
- Cook hot and high. I set my pellet grill to 500 degrees to ensure I’m getting a good sear on the outsides of the tenderloin.
- Let the meat rest. After grilling place some pats of butter on the tenderloin and tent with foil for five minutes so the juices can redistribute.
How long to grill venison steaks
Tough, overcooked steaks are the worst! No one wants that! But all tenderloin are not created equal and will vary in thickness. Thickness impacts cooking time.
When photographing this recipe, the tenderloin I used was about 1-inch thick in the center, tapering off at the end. That’s about average for the tenderloin we have, though you may encounter thinner or thicker steaks.
For 1-inch-thick venison tenderloin: Grill at 500 degrees for 2 – 3 minutes per side for medium rare.
For thicker or more well-done tenderloin you’ll want to grill for 4 – 6 minutes per side.
No matter how long you grill your deer steaks though, you’ll want to be sure you let the meat rest after cooking so the juices can redistribute. Immediately cutting into a steak will give you a first bite that is juicy and delicious, followed by remaining mouthfuls of dry hunks of bland protein.
Watch the recipe video!
Tender and Juicy Grilled Venison Tenderloin
Equipment
- Pellet Grill (or other grill)
- Tin Foil
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh venison tenderloin
- 2 teaspoons venison dry rub, more or less to taste
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- Flaky sea salt, for serving (optional)
- Fresh rosemary, for serving (optional)
- Fresh thyme, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- An hour before cooking, remove the tenderloin from the fridge. (It is important to allow any meat you’re cooking to warm slightly before cooking to avoid it becoming tough.)
- Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towel and season liberally on all sides with up to 4 teaspoons of venison dry rub (or seasoning of choice).
- While the meat comes up in temperature, preheat your pellet grill to 500 degrees or preheat a gas/charcoal grill to high heat.
- Add the tenderloin to the preheated grill. Close the lid and cook for 2 – 3 minutes before flipping and cooking for another 2 – 3 minutes for medium rare.
- Remove the steak from the grill and immediately top with 2 tablespoons of butter and tent with foil. Allow steak to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, fresh rosemary, and fresh thyme.
Video
Notes
- Up to 24 hours ahead, pat the tenderloin dry with paper towel and season liberally on all sides with 4 teaspoons of venison dry rub. Lightly cover and refrigerate until an hour before cooking time.
- Refer to post for instructions on how to use a charcoal or gas grill or grill pan for this recipe.
- Refer to post for seasoning substitutions if you don’t have venison rub.
Nutrition
Leslie Boles says
This recipe was perfect for our venison backstraps. The meat had great flavor and was very tender. Thank you.