Brown Sugar Bourbon Loin Steaks

This is a great dish for anyone who likes steak but say they don’t like venison. It’s NOT gamey, tough, or chewy, which is the biggest complaint of non-venison eaters. This super-simple recipe will convert anyone who is skeptical about eating deer meat. Here’s how to do it…

You need quality deer meat — a good cut and processed properly.  After that, two things are key: Pound the meat with a meat mallet until it is flat and almost falling apart— this tenderizes the meat so it’s NOT tough and chewy. Secondly, using a good marinade further tenderizes and gives the meat a great flavor.

The best part? It’s incredibly simple. I could have made this more elaborate by making my own marinade, but McCormick sells one already to go and it’s outstanding. Let’s do this…

Ingredients:
– One deer loin, cut about 8 or 9 inches long
– One package McCormick GrillMates Marinade
– PepperJack Cheese

Directions:
– prep and trim the deer loin (trim the silver skin, tallow and fat as this is where a lot of the “gamey” flavor originates)
– slice across the loin every quarter inch to make “medallions”
– lay the medallions on a meat mat or chopping block and pound them with a meat mallet, turning it into a steak
– flip the steak and pound it again until the meat is nearly falling apart
– place the meat in a ziploc bag and add the marinade
– squeeze the bag repeatedly for a minute to mix the marinade and cover the meat. Let stand (and marinate) at room temperature for at least a half hour
– pre-heat the grill
– grill the steaks for about three to four minutes on one side (it doesn’t take long) DON”T over cook it.
– flip over, add a thin slice of pepperjack cheese (if desired) and grill another two minutes

Serve as an appetizer. You can serve with OR without the cheese. This works best with deer loin (aka backstrap) but would work with other cuts of the deer. And cheese is optional — you can taste the marinade flavor a little better without the cheese. Enjoy!