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I have grilled my share of rack of lamb before, but never venison. This grilled rack of venison recipe is so tender, lean and flavorful, it might just become a staple in your cooking just like it did for me. For those that have never had venison before it is a great complimentary protein to beef that is slightly leaner with a strong earthy taste but not gamey.
Table of Contents
Step 1: How to properly prep a rack of venison
First, you will need to French the rack of venison which is just a fancy way of saying to clean up the ribs if you purchased a piece with the fat around the bones. This is for presentation purposes only. It’s very simple to achieve this elegant look. With a trimming knife, slide down the side of the rib until you reach the loin. Next, cut across until you reach the adjacent rib and repeat that the downward cut on the other side. Once the ribs are fully visible, trim off any access fat on the front of the ribs and by the loin.
Next, spread dijon mustard over the loin that will work as the binder and season with Dad’s Steak Seasoning. This is the perfect rub, full of garlic, rosemary and butter flavors.
Dad’s Seasonings
Must have grillin seasonings!
Step 2: How to grill the perfect rack of venison.
Preheat the grill to 375 degrees. Set the grill for dual zone cooking, which means you will have an indirect side as well as a direct side for the final sear.
First, set the seasoned rack of venison on the indirect side and grill until the internal temperature of the loin reaches 125 degrees. Next, move it to the direct side and sear 1-2 minutes per side to get a nice crust around.
Remove the grilled rack of venison off the grill once the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees. This will result in a nice medium rare cook which is perfect for venison. Because of the lean meat, cooking it any longer will result in tough and chewy meat which is not very fun to eat. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before cutting into single serve slices.
Venison Grilling Tips
- Do not go over 130 degrees internal temp on the venison. It’s a very lean meat making it easy to overcook and become tough
- Grill/cook at 250-275 degrees to slowly bring the meat up to temperature and not overcook too fast.
Step 3: Homemade butter chimichurri
Start off with finely chopping an entire batch of parsley and cilantro. I have seen this done with parsley only, with cilantro only or both. In my personal opinion, an equal mix of both makes it just right.
Next add a tablespoon of freshly minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, red wine vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice and melted butter. Mix these ingredients together with a spoon, not a food processor and you are done! Yes, it’s that simple.
Pour the homemade buttery chimichurri over the grilled rack of venison and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Not everyone is a fan or wants to try venison, I get it. A great meat substitute would be a rack of lamb.
Venison is a very tender type of meat. People say it’s earthy and rich but not overly gamey. If seasoned and cooked properly, venison is a great protein to add to your meals.
Similar Recipe Ideas:
Printer Friendly Recipe:
Grilled Rack of Venison
Ingredients
- 1 Rack of venison
- 2 tbsp Dad's Steak seasoning
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Butter Chimichurri Ingredients
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1 Batch of parsley
- 1 Batch of cilantro
- 1 Lemon
- 1.5 stick Unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
- With a trimming knife, slide down the side of the rib until you reach the loin. Next, cut across until you reach the adjacent rib and repeat that the downward cut on that side. Once the ribs are fully visible, trim off any access fat on the front of the ribs as well as the loin.
- Spread dijon mustard over the loin that will work as the binder and season with Dad's Steak Seasoning.
- Preheat the grill to 375 degrees and set it for dual zone cooking.
- First, set the seasoned rack of venison on the indirect side and grill until the internal temperature of the loin reaches 125 degrees. Next, move it to the direct side and sear 1-2 minutes per side to get a nice crust around.
- Remove the grilled rack of venison off the grill once the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes.
Nutrition
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