I’ve prepared back strap many different ways but this recipe is by far my favorite. Too many hunters call the back straps the tenderloins. The tenderloin runs along the inside of the lumber spine. The back straps run along the outside of the spine from the pelvis to base of the neck. The tenderloin is a wonderful piece of meat and too many times I’ve seen it dried up inside a carcass. I always take out the tenderloins as soon as I gut a deer because they do tend to dry up quickly. Back to the backstrap:
Step 1) Put a frying pan on the stove and turn on the burner so it gets very hot.
Step 2) Coat a 6-10 inch piece of back strap with blackened seasoning. The ingredients to make the blackened seasoning are listed below. This seasoning is great for burgers, fish, turkey breasts you name it. It adds a wonderful spicy kick to the meat.
Step 3) Put the seasoned back strap on the hot frying pan for about 1 minute each side. The hot pan is going to sear the seasoning to the back strap. It’s going to get smokey so make sure the fan is running.
Step 4) Remove the back strap from the pan and put it on a baking dish. You then bake the strap in the oven until the inside of the strap reaches 130 degrees. If you want to make your back strap extra awesome put it on top of a couple sprigs of rosemary. The oven can be set at 200 – 400 degrees but I think the slower you cook it the better it turns out. One of the greatest tools I have found for cooking perfect meat is the digital thermometer. All you do is put the probe in the meat and then set the thermometer to the ideal temperature. When the alarm goes off you know to take out the meat. It’s a must have in the kitchen.
Step 5) When the alarm goes off or when you think the meat is done remove it from the stove and let it sit for 10-12 minutes. You can cover it with tin foil but I usually don’t bother. If you cut the meat sooner than 10 minutes you will lose a lot of the juices. Whenever you cook meat it is best to let it sit for about ten minutes before cutting. This keeps the juice in the meat and not running all over the plate.
Step 6) After the meat has set for the 10 minutes cut it into medallions and serve. I had mine with some Annies BBQ sauce.
If you try this and have had better please let me know so I can make it!
Blackened Seasoning Mix.
1 tbsp paprika
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne
3/4 tsp white pepper
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp fennel — or seeds crushed
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