# Grilled Venison Tenderloin with Marsala Mushroom Sauce



## goatchze (Aug 1, 2006)

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture until we gobbled it all up! Made this up on Sunday and the wife and kids thought it was delicious.

*Grilled Venison Tenderloin with Marsala Mushroom Sauce*

1 Venison Tenderloin, cleaned and any silver skin/tendons removed.

*Marinade*

2/3 cup Marsala wine
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp Kosher salt
1 tbsp onion flakes
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

*Sauce*

Reserved Marinade
1 medium onion
8 oz crimini mushrooms
2 tbs butter
1 tbs flour

*Directions*

Place the marinade and meat in a ziplock bag. Marinade in refrigerator at least overnight.

Remove meat from bag, reserving marinade. Grill over high heat until medium-rare (~3-5 minutes per side), turning once. Remove to a metal bowl, cover with foil, and let rest. Please note that the meat will still be increasing in doneness while in the bowl.

Meanwhile, saute onions in butter until translucent. Add mushrooms and saute until tender. Sprinkle on flour and stir to incorporate. Add reserved marinade and simmer until reduced and thick.

Remove meat from bowl and slice thinly on the bias. Place sliced meat on plate, topping with mushroom sauce.

Serve with roasted potatoes and sauteed kale (recipes follow)

*Roasted Potatoes*

1. Set your oven to 450F and start a large pot of water boiling
2. Peel and dice however many russet potatoes you want to cook. Make the dice large enough so that each piece is a single bite.
3. Put diced potatoes in boiling water over high heat. Once pot has returned to a boil, boil vigorously for 2 minutes.
4. Drain potatoes to a colander in your sink, then spray with cold water until temperature is reduced, a minute or so.
5. Drain well, then in a large bowl, toss the potatoes with enough olive oil to coat. Too much oil is better than too little, but don't waste a bunch by leaving it in the bottom of the bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Now is the time to add any "extras", such as unpeeled garlic cloves, seasonings such as rosemary, etc. If used, these "extras" should complement the main dish. For the tenderloin, I went with unpeeled garlic cloves and some of the thyme stems (not leaves). Avoid things that will burn, such as fresh herb leaves, diced onion, etc.
7. Place potatoes onto a cookie sheet and roast until golden brown and delicious, turning as needed. ~45 minutes.

*Sauteed Kale*

1 Bunch of kale (or 1 bag of baby kale)
1 medium onion
1/2-1c chicken broth (unsalted)
1-2 tsp sugar (to taste)
1-2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4c raisins
1 tbsp oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a dutch oven or similar large pot, saute the onions in the oil until cooked through. Remove the stems from the kale (if large kale) and dice the leaves. Add the kale to the pot and stir/turn until wilted. And the sugar, raisins, vinegar, salt and pepper, and enough chicken broth to leave a slight amount of liquid in the bottom of the pot. Set heat to low and simmer 30 minutes, turning and adding additional broth as needed.


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## goatchze (Aug 1, 2006)

Here's a photo with the kale/potatoes. Tenderloin in this picture is missing the mushroom sauce. So tender you can cut it with a fork!


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## FISHINFOOL87 (Jun 21, 2010)

1 word....WOW!


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## goatchze (Aug 1, 2006)

Well, I had to wait a year until I had fresh venison tenderloins again, but we finally made this dish again. Photo below with the mushroom sauce. The sauce turned out sweeter than last year, which may have been due to a different marsala wine. If you make this, I might recommend withholding half or more of the sugar, and then adding it into the sauce at the end to taste. Don't hold back on the thyme!

Went with asparagus and broccoli this time, and roasted both sweet and russet potatoes. If you want to do the potato mix, keep in mind that the sweet potatoes do not need to be par boiled. Otherwise the method is the same.


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