The perfect grilled venison backstrap isn’t as hard to achieve as you may think. Try this recipe for the most juicy and tender venison steak you’ve ever had!

A tender grilled venison backstrap is one of my favorites. (Besides the tenderloins of course) This recipe starts with a simple marinade which acidic components help tenderize the meat. After a few hours, we’ll need to pat the backstrap completely dry; this is key! A simple dusting of salt and pepper is really all the flavor venison needs. Trust me. It gets cooked on a screaming hot grill and then you’re ready to slice and serve. This recipe is great because its so simple. People try to complicate things when cooking with game and you really dont need to.

Tips for Cooking With Venison:

This recipe uses all of my favorite tips and tricks for cooking with venison to take it to the highest level. Here’s a few:

Cook with an Acid: the marinade in this recipe contains acidic components. Most recipes you see do this. It’s not by accident. You see, acids work to denature proteins, which in turns creates pockets into the meat where the flavor enters, thus softening your cut of meat. Don’t let your venison marinate too long though!
Let your Grill Heat Up: a hot grill creates the perfect crust. Plus, who doesn’t love those nice grill marks.
Don’t Overcook It: This one should go without saying but invest in a good meat thermometer and never overcook your steaks again.
Rest Before Slicing: This helps retain the juices

What You’ll Need to Make This Recipe:

Venison: Did you know the term venison technically means “the edible flesh of a game animal .” I know we always refer to it as deer meat but elk, mule deer, etc all fit in this category
Olive Oil
Soy Sauce
Balsamic Vinegar
Dijon Mustard
Garlic
Salt and Pepper

Other Venison Recipes To Try:

If you loved this recipe for grilled venison backstrap, you’ve gotta try some of these!

Grilled Venison Backstrap

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5 from 1 review

A tender grilled venison backstrap is hard to beat. This recipe has the perfect marinade that has been my go to for years.

Author: Jenn Homa

Ingredients

Scale

1 lb Venison Backstrap, Trimmed
Salt and Pepper

Marinade:

¼ cup Olive Oil
¼ cup Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
2 cloves Garlic, Chopped

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Instructions

Mix together olive oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, wisher sauce, Dijon, mustard and chopped garlic in a small bowl.
Trim backstrap of any silver skin. Then place into a container with the lid or a Ziploc bag and pour the marinade over top. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
Take the marinated venison out of the refrigerator, remove the venison from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels, then set onto a clean plate and season all over with salt and black pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
During that time, heat your grill to high heat.
Once your grill is preheated, place your venison backstrap on the grill. The exact cooking time is going to depend on two things: how thick your backstrap is and how you like your venison cooked. A rough estimate is 10-14 minutes total cooking time, flipping halfway. To help get a good sear, I like to flip after the 5 ish minute mark, and go from there. With a cut from a smaller doe you might want to flip at the 4 minute mark, just in case. Depending on how you like your venison steaks cooked, remove them when the internal temperature hits no lower than 120°F and no higher than 140°F. I prefer about 130°F.
Allow your steaks to rest prior to slicing. Note: tenting with foil is not recommended unless you want the venison backstrap to keep cooking. When tented, the temperature of your steaks will increase by almost 5 degrees.