Best Venison Tenderloins

[BobT]

This turned out so amazing I had to share.

One practice that I began doing a couple years ago was to age my venison. I know, there are skeptics out there that think it doesn't do any good but I beg to differ. Since I began aging my venison I no longer mix it with other meat for making sausage. Just ground venison and because I trim it so clean I add a little water to make it easier to mix the spices and retain moisture while cooking.

When we get a deer the first thing we do is hang it to bleed out as soon as possible. We are set up to do this in the woods until we can legally use the ATV to haul them to my brother's garage. If the weather is too warm (50 degrees plus) we will skin it as soon as we can get it back to the garage otherwise we wait until evening. It is a lot easier to skin them warm than cold and we feel it is best to cool the meat as fast as possible. We also believe we get better flavor by removing the skin ASAP. The meat is hung for a minimum of 24 hours to allow the muscles to relax from rigor mortis before we even think about processing the deer. Our next step is to process or meat. My cuts of meat are placed into ice cream pails for transport back to my home. When I get home the buckets are placed in our spare refrigerator for 7 days to age. The covers are left on the buckets to protect the meat from drying out and about once a day or more I empty the blood that has bled out of the meat. Now for the recipe I'll share.

The next time you get your deer, cover the tenderloins with a wet towel or better yet a cheese cloth to prevent drying and wait for the 24-hour time delay. Then remove the tenderloins and place them into a covered container and refrigerate for about 7 days, occasionally draining excess blood. Now vacuum seal them with your favorite marinade and put them back into the refrigerator for about a day. About every couple hours or so, kneed the bag to work the marinade into the meat and flip it over. After about a day season and cook as deired or freeze until ready. Remember, don't over-cook. A very light hint of pink is ideal. I trust that you'll taste the most tender delicious wild venison you've ever experienced. I know my daughters and I were very surprised. Enjoy.