If you want tender, restaurant-quality venison medallions without extra fuss. This is the move: trim and clean, salt ahead, get a cast-iron ripping hot, sear 1-2 minutes per side, baste with butter, rest, and serve medium-rare.
Use tenderloin for ultra-tender or backstrap for a little more bite. Both shine when you build a golden brown crust and don’t overcook. I finish with a bright orange cilantro tapenade that brings acid and herbs to lean red meat. It’s fast, elegant, and easy to throw together.
If you’re looking for more dinner ideas, check out my complete collection of recipes for venison. Or stick with the prime cuts and take a look at my backstrap and venison tenderloin recipes page.
Quick Look: Venison Medallions
- Ready in: 30 minutes of prep, 10 minutes cooking and optional 4 hours of marinating
- Yields: 8 medallions
- Calories: 902
- Main ingredients: Venison backstrap or tenderloin, bacon, olive oil, orange zest, lemon zest, olives, capers & cilantro.
- Cook method: Pan-seared
- Why this version works: Easy to put together, and can be prepped 1 day in advance.
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Notes on ingredients
The full amounts are listed in the recipe card.
For the Medallions
- Venison tenderloin or backstrap, trimmed of silverskin (cut into 1½-2-inch medallions)
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- High-heat oil (avocado or grapeseed)
- Unsalted butter
- Optional aromatics: 1 garlic clove (smashed), thyme/rosemary sprig
For the Tapenade
- Fresh orange juice + zest
- Lime zest
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kalamata olives (pitted, finely chopped)
- Capers (finely chopped)
- Cilantro leaves (finely chopped)
How to Cook Venison Medallions
- Trim & portion: Remove silverskin completely so the meat doesn’t curl or turn chewy. Cut medallions 1½- 2 inches thick; square the edges for even browning. For even cooking, tie the medallions with butchers’ twine to keep them uniform in shape.
- Salt ahead: Season all sides with kosher salt 30-60 minutes before cooking (room temperature, uncovered). Pat very dry before searing.
- Preheat pan: Heat a cast-iron skillet or other heavy pan over medium-high/high until it lightly smokes. Add a thin film of oil; it should shimmer instantly.
- Sear: Lay medallions in without crowding. Sear 1-2 minutes per side until a deep brown crust forms. Flip once.
- Butter-baste (last minute): Add 1-2 Tbsp butter with smashed garlic and a thyme or rosemary sprig. Tilt the pan and spoon the foaming butter over each medallion for 20-30 seconds.
- Temp & rest: Probe into the center of the venison. Pull at 120-125°F and rest 5-10 minutes (carryover to 125-130°F, a juicy medium-rare).
- Serve: Spoon the tapenade over or alongside. If you can see which direction the grain runs through the meat, slice across it.
Best Cuts for Medallions
- Venison tenderloin: Most tender, but it overcooks fast. Watch temps closely.
- Backstrap (loin): Slightly firmer than the tenderloin. Easier to get a gorgeous crust due to longer cooking time.
- Venison Round Steaks: A little firmer than the prime cuts, but they work great. They take a little more knife work to cut into medallions
Internal Temperature & Cooking Time
Use a fast instant-read thermometer and probe from the side into the center.
- Rare: pull 115-118°F | rest to 120-125°F
- Medium-rare (recommended): pull 125-128°F → rest to 130-135°F
- Medium: pull 135-138°F → rest to 140-145°F (lean venison starts to dry here)
Serving Tips
- Sauces: Use the listed tapenade or substitute my basil chimichurri for steak.
- Starches: crispy roasted potatoes or creamy mash. Polenta is also a great choice.
- Greens & veg: peppery arugula with lemon, charred asparagus or broccolini, sautéed mushrooms.
Venison Medallions FAQs
What temperature should I cook venison medallions to?
Pull to 125-128°F and rest to 130-135°F for medium-rare. Venison is lean, and it eats best below medium.
Are Tenderloins or backstraps better for venison medallions?
Both work. Tenderloin is ultra-tender; backstrap takes a killer sear and a little more chew. Backstrap gives you more room for error.
More Venison Backstrap Recipes
Lastly, if you make these venison medallions, be sure to leave a rating and a comment below! Also, tag me on Instagram with some of your creations. I thoroughly enjoy hearing feedback and checking out the photos of recipes that you’ve made.
Venison Medallions with Tapenade
This venison medallion recipe uses backstrap or tenderloin, cut into thick medallions, wrapped in bacon, then cooked hot and fast, and served with an orange-cilantro tapenade.
Ingredients
For the Venison Medallions
- 8 venison medallions (about 2.5 inches thick venison cut from the backstrap or tenderloins)
- 8 strips thick cut smoky bacon
- 1 bunch cilantro stems, chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
- salt and pepper as needed
- butchers twine for securing the bacon
For the Orange Cilantro Tapenade
- 1/4 cup fresh or high quality orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons capers, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
Instructions
Wrap and marinate the venison
- Place the bacon in a pot with enough water to completely cover the bacon. Bring to a slow simmer and cook the bacon for 3 minutes. Remove the bacon and dry off with paper towels. Wrap one piece of bacon around the circumference of each medallion. Wrap butchers twine around the bacon and venison to secure.
- Place the venison in a baking dish. In a bowl mix together the oil, cilantro, garlic and a pinch of kosher salt & back pepper. Pour the marinade over top of the meat and marinate for 2 to 8 hours.
Make the tapenade while the venison is marinating.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the tapenade to a bowl and mix well. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Covered tightly this mixture will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Cook the venison medallions.
- Place your grill or large cast iron skillet over high heat. Season the steaks with salt and black pepper. Place the steaks on their sides (bacon side down) and cooked while rotating the meat until the bacon in nicely browned and a little charred.Now turn them onto their flat sides and cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until you reach your desired internal temperature (as always I recommend not cooking venison steaks passed medium rare). Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes, remove the strings and serve with the tapenade and sweet potato hush puppies.
NOTES
- Blanch the bacon first. Simmer the bacon for about 3 minutes, then dry it well before wrapping the medallions. That helps it render and brown faster when the venison hits the pan or grill.
- Do not marinate too long. Two to 8 hours is enough for this oil-herb marinade. Longer is not needed for tenderloin or backstrap medallions.
- Brown the bacon side first. Start the medallions on their sides and rotate them until the bacon is browned, then sear the flat sides. That gives the bacon time to crisp without overcooking the venison center.
- Cook the venison hot. Use a very hot grill or cast iron and sear the flat sides for about 2 minutes per side, then pull at medium-rare or your preferred doneness. Venison medallions dry out fast if pushed much past that.
- Rest before removing string. Let the medallions rest about 5 minutes before cutting off the butcher’s twine and serving. That helps the juices settle and keeps the bacon in place while the meat finishes resting.
- Make the tapenade ahead. The orange-cilantro tapenade can be made while the venison marinates and keeps in the refrigerator for up to 1 week if covered tightly.
Nutrition
Calories: 902kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 106g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 28g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 397mg | Sodium: 695mg | Potassium: 1512mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 178IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 16mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.
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