Depending on the amount of the flesh and the age of the deer, marinate the venison in a red wine-based sauce for 12-36 hours. Once the meat is medium rare, take it from the marinade and grill or roast it.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 12 hrs |
| Total Time: | 13 hrs 35 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 pounds venison tenderloin
- 1 cup red wine
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Combine the red wine, cider vinegar, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary in a medium bowl, and mix well. Transfer to a large resealable bag, and put the venison tenderloin into the bag. Close tightly, pressing out as much air as you can. Place meat in the refrigerator to marinate, turning two or three times, for at least 12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Remove meat from marinade, and place on a roasting rack in a roasting pan.
- Roast in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or to your desired degree of doneness. For medium rare, the internal temperature of the roast should be at least 150 degrees F (65 degrees C) when taken with a meat thermometer. Let the roast stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
- While the tenderloin roasts, heat marinade in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Serve with venison.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 345 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 212 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 57 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 106 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 6 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
tasted too much like vinegar.
followed the recipe and did it on the grill. the apple cider vinegar is definitely a bit much. would highly recommend reducing the amount of vinegar or using apple cider instead
Didn’t care for the wine and vinegar flavor. Agree with the person who described the awful smell in the house! Followed the recipe as written. Would not make it again.
Good marinade but a little heavy on the vinegar. I had very mild venison so it was a bit overpowering. Will cut vinegar in half next time.
The marinade time should be varied depending on the age of the deer. For example, I usually target younger animals, and they don’t need as much marinading time since they are naturally more tender. I would also recommend a slightly lower cooking temperature, especially for younger animals. You will need to follow the temperatures closely (I use a continuous-read probe), as it will start to climb rapidly after 130F or so. Also be aware that the sauce will have a distinctive apple cider vinegar flavor. We happen to like that extra tang when serving the sauce with the meat, but just take your guests’ tastes in to consideration when saucing.
The vinegar does not do this dish well. BTW, this recipe calls for tenderloin, but I’m relatively certain that the submitter meant for it to be the loin (backstrap). Multiple deer would have to be killed in order to obtain 4 pounds of tenderloin. Even then, it would be in several small strips and couldn’t be roasted as one piece. Also, the picture submitted shows the backstrap. I may try this again using venison round steaks, as I have a few of them to mess around with. I think that cut of meat might be better served with this recipe. With the strap and tenderloin, the less you do to the cuts, the better it will tend to be.
We browned the loins and put them in the crockpot with the listed ingredients for about eight hours. Turned out flavorful and tender.
Pretty sure the recipe maker is referring to venison backstrap, not tenderloin. Backstrap is what is pictured. Tenderloins are small pieces meat from the chest cavity of a deer that are so tender, they could almost be pulled out by hand. It would take several deer to get 4 lbs of tenderloin.
The flavors in this recipe were good, but the tenderloin was a still little dry.
Followed exact recipe. Other cuts from same deer were wonderful. I did not care for this recipe.
wow– i really dont like writing reviews but when i find a recipe as good as this i have to let people know. thanx for a great lunch.
All I could taste was vinegar and the recipe said med rare is best but listed 165 degree as the internal temp. vinegar completely overwhelmed the palate. I suggest people use the rub wrapped with bacon recipe.
I am reviewing this based on my husbands ratings as I don’t care for deer meat. He thought this marinade was a good one and it produced a very tender tenderloin. He slowly grilled it rather than roasting.
I just have to say, my husband hunts in the Northern part of BC adn our deer is NEVER gamey. We do not soak in milk, or ice it or do anything else. At it eats whatever is out there. If it is properly field dressed and hung, and you handle the meat carefully during the butchering process there is no need to do anything else. No one should be hunting during the rut. Ew. This recipe works wonderfully just the way it is!
I think it tastes better with apple cider not apple cider vinegar. I used the vinegar and it was if I pickled the meat. I then found out my friend used apple CIDER and that is why it was awesome…
Vinegar and wine flavor was too strong. Not a hit for our family.
I have mixed reviews of this recipe. I had to make a change in cooking method. When I thawed my tenderloin I realized it was sliced into inch thick medallions. I chose to grill the meat instead of roasting as a result. The meat was relatively tender, but still had a more gamey taste than I’ve had with other marinades I’ve used with venison. The flavor of the wine was very predominant.
The vinegar overpowers the venison. I’d recommend a shorter marinade or less vinegar.
i love vinegar but this was a bit much. i saved the reduction by making it into a gravy w/ some flour and butter. i even had to add some sugar but it was still VERY vinegary. sorry, wont make this one again.
I used this recipe with a few modifications, first I soaked the meat in water and a Tbl. of vinegar for 6 hrs. changing the water every couple of hours. I then marinaded the meat as directed except for the vinegar and I added a little soy and worcestershire. I also wrapped the tenderloin in bacon and seared on all sides before putting in the oven on 350 for 20-30 min (depending how rare you like it) I strained the marinade into a pan and added 1 Tbl. of grape jelly,brought to a boil,scraped the foam from the top and serve! yummy!
The biggest thing that people need to remember when cooking venison is the deer itself. Where was the deer from? What was the food plot for that deer? How old was he deer? Was it a male? Shot during the rut? Was the deer processed and field dressed in a timely manner and cleaned properly? Deer harvested way up north(upper Michigan etc…) will have a much stronger game taste due to it’s food intake. Deer that feed on corn, soybeans, etc…will have a much less game taste. Bucks taken during the rut will be tough and have a very strng game taste. This is all important in the cooking and the preperation (marinating) of the deer.