Our oldest son has had a heart for animals since he was a little thing, so I was rather surprised when he took up the sport of hunting last fall. As an exceptional sportsman, he proved to be an excellent marksman and hunter. I was grateful for the relief to our grocery bill, but lacked enthusiasm when it came time to prepare or eat the venison. That is no longer true. We enjoy Quesadillas quite often using ground venison, and I now have a palatable method of preparing the tenderloin. I slightly modified Hank Shaw’s Pan Seared Venison Tenderloin recipe as I wanted to ensure the venison was well-done, but still tender. I also cut the proportion of sauce to 1/2 from Hank’s receipe since we had plenty left over.
Seared Venison Tenderloin
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 1 Venison Tenderloin
- Salt
- 4 tbsp Olive oil
- Fresh ground black pepper
Sauce
- 1 Shallot minced
- 1/2 cup Red wine
- 1 cup Beef broth
- 2 tbsp Butter
Instructions
- Thaw the meat and rinse it.
- Salt the meat and set aside while you mince the shallot.
- Line a baking dish with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
- Preheat the over to 375 degrees.
- Heat the olive oil on high heat. Turn on the overhead exhaust fan.
- Use papertowels to pat the meat dry. Place the tenderloins in the pan. Heat for 2 minutes on each side.
- Move the tenderloins from the pan to the baking dish. Reduce pan heat to medium. Lightly pepper the seared tenderloins.
- Bake in the over for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.
- In the same pan you seared the tenderloins in, add the minced shallot. Gently stir to lift any browned bits from the bottom of the pan into the oil. Saute until the shallots are browned.
- Add 1/2 c red wine.
- Let it come to a boil for a few seconds and then add 1 cup of beef broth. Bring to a boil for several minutes.
- Add in butter 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Slice the venison and pour the sauce over it.