Grilled Backstrap with Chili Lime Butter
Venison off the grate, sliced thin, dipped in hot butter cut with lime and mustard.
- calories
- 470
- weight
- 6.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 72
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Snack
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Venison backstrap | 1 whole section, 1-2 lb | trimmed of silverskin at home |
|---|---|---|
| Carne asada seasoning | 2 tbsp | any chili-lime rub works |
| Butter | 1 cup | keeps for a weekend in a cooler; ghee is the no-cooler swap |
| Lime juice | 2 tbsp | half a large lime, or bottled |
| Garlic | 2 cloves, minced | 1 tsp granulated garlic if you would rather not chop |
| Shallot | 1 small, minced | |
| Dijon mustard | 2 tbsp | |
| Prepared horseradish | 1 tbsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1/2 tsp | |
| Red pepper flakes | a pinch | |
| Dried parsley | 1 tsp |
Method
- Coat the backstrap on all sides with the seasoning and let it sit out while the fire burns down. Cold meat straight from the cooler cooks unevenly.
- Build a hot bed of coals and set the grate close over it.
- Grill the backstrap 4 to 6 minutes a side, turning once, until the outside is dark and the center still gives when you press it. Medium-rare. Venison has no fat to save it past that.
- Move it to a cutting board or a plate and leave it alone for ten minutes.
- While it rests, melt the butter in a small pot at the cool edge of the grate. Stir in the lime juice, garlic, shallot, mustard, horseradish, paprika, pepper flakes, and parsley. Keep it warm, not bubbling.
- Slice the backstrap thin against the grain and pile it around the pot. Dip each slice.
The sauce is the point. Venison backstrap is lean to the point of austerity, and a hot butter dip puts back the fat it does not have. Lime and mustard keep that butter from tasting like plain grease; the horseradish and pepper flakes do the rest.
Everything but the meat and the butter is shelf-stable, so the cooler load is small. Cook it hot and fast and pull it early. Overcooked backstrap turns to liver, and no amount of sauce fixes that.
Packing
Mix the dry seasoning and the paprika, pepper flakes, and parsley into one small jar at home. Mince the shallot and garlic ahead and bag them. Backstrap and butter ride in the cooler, meat on the bottom.
Variations
- Ghee instead of butter holds at ambient temperature and makes this a no-cooler sauce for the meat only.
- Works the same on beef sirloin or elk if the freezer is empty.
- Leftover sauce goes on potatoes, bread, or anything else on the table.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/grilled-venison-backstrap-with-chili-lime-butter-dipping-sauce