What's on the Grill #203: Venison Tenderloin

I am quite thankful to have several friends at work who like to hunt.  When the call of the wild is heard, they head into the nearest field/forest/stream and bring back a ton of meat.  Of course the true reason why I'm thankful is because they share.  Recently I've had duck, goose, and elk.  Tonight, it's venison.  In fact, tonight isn't just any old type of venison, it's a venison tenderloin.  That's right, it's not just Bambi steaks, it's her holy and sacred tenderloins!

I love venison, much like any type of game meat...or really, any type of meat for that matter. However, seeing I was a venison tenderloin newbie, I opted for a simple preparation of salt, pepper, thyme and garlic.  Venison has that rich deep flavor (I refuse to use the generic term: gamey), I didn't want to drown it out.

After equally seasoning the tenderloin, I seared all sides of the meat over direct medium heat for approximately 2 minutes a side.  From there, I moved it to indirect medium to finish cooking.

I wanted to be fairly accurate with the temperature, so I probed the loin.  Also, it was snowing, so I didn't want to spend any more time outside than necessary. Probe it once and forget about it, I say.  Probe it many times and the neighbors start making phone calls.

Anyway, I grilled the venison till it hit an internal temperature of 135 degrees, approximately 20 minutes.  From there, it was sliced and served.

I'm glad I went simple with the rub, because the venison really came through and to me, that's a good thing.  Oddly enough, not only was the venison great for dinner, it was even better as cold leftovers the next day.  This is my kind of all purpose meal.  Thanks to my friend Alan for making this happen.  I'm lucky to have such great coworkers with steady aim and overstocked freezers.