Tenderloin is aptly named because it is the most tender and prized meat on the deer and is just a bit better than the famed backstrap.
There is a whole world of people out there that will tell you that venison needs to be handled a special way or it won't be good to eat but I'm a lifelong hunter and so are most of my friends and we all just season any venison we eat exactly the same way we season our beef.
If it was processed correctly, and that is usually the part that messes up most venison and gives it a bad reputation, it will have a unique flavor unlike any other meat you've eaten but is pretty close to beef round steak because venison is incredibly LEAN.
The biggest mistake you can make in cooking any venison is to overcook it. If you don't like to eat meat cooked rare or medium rare then you won't like venison unless you add fat by frying it in fat or wrap in bacon or similar fat introduction.
Venison cooked without any added fat is best cooked at about 1/3 to 1/2 the time you would cook the same amount and size and cut of beef. As soon as the red disappears so does any tenderness and it can be like eating shoe leather and you'll probably throw it away and proclaim venison horrible to eat like most people.
So... I usually just add a bit of garlic salt and a tiny touch of Colgin's Liquid Smoke and grill it on medium heat on my gas grill for about 3 minutes on each side and it goes from there right to the table.
Great minds think alike but dirty minds work together.... ;)
I agree with Happy; however for a great treat with the tenderloin is to slice onions and garlic and cook that in butter. remove the onions/garlic and make sure there is enough butter in the skillet, slice the tenderloin about 1" think and quick pan fry them. Don't overload the skillet. about 3-4 minutes each side. Let rest for about 5-10 minutes and cover with onions and garlic.
deglaze the pan with a red wine and reduce for a great sauce.
I've also had it ground into hamburger meat for burgers and used for chopped steak or steak & gravy.
Venison steaks I grill just like steaks according to size & thickness. Sometimes a marinade.
I've had venison sausage before but not involved in making it.
I recently had another foot injury so I was sidelined from the grocery store. I was hoping to get some rosemary and juniper berries but I had to deal with what I had. (I also had no bacon.)
I also ran out of black pepper which is pretty much my favorite thing in the world.
I had to slice off the silverskin, which was hard because my ex girlfriend took all the expensive knives that I bought for "us." So I kind of mangled the thing to begin with. I coated it with olive oil and a bit of fleur de sel. (much better than regular or kosher salt). Because I didn't have any black pepper I used white pepper, which I feel is an often underutilized spice.
I roasted it in the oven for about 30 mins and then seared it in a pan to lock in the moisture. I let it rest for about ten minutes and then sliced it into medallions. I was worried that it would be overcooked, but it was perfect. Not too gamey. Not too dry. Definitely under seasoned, but it worked.
I ate the whole tenderloin in one sitting.
I like savory spices with game meat: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom. I prefer a dry rub and a roast with veggies and red wine, don't over complicate it.
This is the way us Cajuns do it. First soak it in milk over night. That will help take away the wild taste. Then rub in some granulated garlic and onion, some black or red pepper to taste if you want, BUT NO SALT. Then put in a zip lock and let it marinate for a couple hours in the fridge. This is good to do regardless of how you cook it. The meat should be very lean.
You can cook it whole like you would a whole beef fillet. Let it rest covered for a few minutes after cooking before slicing. This helps keep the juices in the meat when you start cutting it.
Or you can slice it in 1/4 inch rounds and batter it like chicken and fry it
You can slice it into steaks 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch thick steaks and BBQ them. Or in a heavy skillet like cast iron.
If you do have a heavy skillet you can blacken the steaks. Put the skillet on a high heat burner with nothing in it. Melt some clarified real butter IN A SEPERATE POT. Dip or coat the steaks in the melted butter. Once the pan is real hot, put a few drops of water in the hot skillet. If the drops start dancing and disappear quickly, the skillet is hot enough. Make sure your vent fan is on high. Place the coated steaks in the skillet. There WILL BE A LOT of smoke. Just a couple minutes on each side should be long enough. The steaks should be rare to med rare at this point. If you want the steaks medium to well finish in a 350 degree oven in another skillet. If you leave them in the same skillet it may burn them. They will be blackened but it is not burnt.
You could also google Chef John Folse receipts for cooking back strap or deer tenderloin.
Good luck
Brandie
Wrap the edge with bacon, to keep it juicy, and grill it. Even better, wrap jalapeño slices between the bacon and the venison.
It's good marinated too, again to keep it juicy. I like soy sauce, wine vinegar, and oil in equal portions, plus garlic, brown sugar, and a bit of ginger.