Grilled Backstrap with Skillet Ratatouille
Marinated venison over a cast iron skillet of summer vegetables, cooked on a grate at the campsite.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 12 oz
- cal / oz
- 35
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 30 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 75 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
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Venison backstrap | 2-3 lb | marinated 6-8 hours in zesty Italian dressing before the trip |
|---|---|---|
| Zesty Italian dressing | 1 cup | plus the marinade, which gets thrown out |
| Yellow squash | 1, sliced | |
| Zucchini | 1, sliced | |
| Cucumber | 1, sliced | |
| Eggplant | 1, sliced | |
| Red onion | 1, sliced | |
| Cherry or plum tomatoes | 16 oz | |
| Italian herb blend | 2 tbsp | |
| Parmesan | a wedge | grate it at camp |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Marinate the backstrap at home in Italian dressing for six to eight hours. Bag it, keep it cold in the cooler, and dump the marinade before it goes on the fire.
- Get the fire down to a steady bed of coals, or run a grill at about 350F. You want an even medium heat for the better part of an hour, not a blaze.
- Slice the squash, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, and onion. Layer them in overlapping rings around a 12-inch cast iron skillet.
- Scatter the tomatoes over the top. Pour the cup of dressing across the whole pan and season with salt, pepper, and the herb blend.
- Set the skillet on the grate and lay the backstrap on the grate beside it. Cover if you can.
- Cook about 45 minutes, turning the loin a few times, until it hits 135F in the thickest part. The vegetables finish in the same window.
- Rest the meat ten minutes off the heat while the skillet keeps going. Slice against the grain and grate parmesan over the vegetables.
Backstrap is lean enough to punish you for overcooking it, so the whole plan here is moderate heat and a thermometer. At 350F a two to three pound loin takes about 45 minutes to reach 135F, which happens to be exactly how long a skillet of sliced summer vegetables needs to go soft without turning to mush. One fire, two things cooking, no timing math.
The dressing does double duty: acid and oil to tenderize the meat overnight, then a second cup poured over the vegetables as the cooking fat and the seasoning at once. Throw out the marinade the meat sat in. This is a cooler recipe, not a backpacking one — fresh squash and a parmesan wedge are not shelf-stable, and there is no dried version of this dish worth eating.
Packing
Marinate at home the night before and carry the loin in a doubled zip bag at the bottom of the cooler. Vegetables travel whole and get sliced at camp; sliced eggplant browns and sliced cucumber goes limp. Premix the herb blend, salt, and pepper into one small jar.
Variations
- Beef sirloin or a pork loin works the same way if there is no venison in the freezer.
- No cast iron: build a foil packet for the vegetables and set it on the grate, but expect them to steam rather than brown.
- Swap the cucumber for a bell pepper if you want something that holds its shape over 45 minutes.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/grilled-backstrap-and-fresh-garden-ratatouille-recipe