Backstrap (Loin)
The two long muscles along the spine are venison's crown jewels - tender, lean and built for hot-and-fast cooking to medium-rare. Ruin nothing else first.
Ask any deer hunter which cut settles arguments and the answer runs down both sides of the spine: the backstraps - the longissimus muscles that do almost no work in a deer's life and eat like it. This is venison's ribeye-and-strip-loin territory: tender, deeply flavored, and utterly unforgiving of overcooking. The whole discipline of backstrap cookery is one sentence long - high heat, short time, pull at medium-rare, rest - and every sad gray backstrap story is a violation of it.
What it is
The paired loin muscles running along the outside of the spine from shoulder to hip (not to be confused with the tenderloins INSIDE the cavity). On a mature deer, each strap runs 40-60 cm - the biggest tender cut on the animal.
Why it eats this way
Posture muscle, not propulsion - minimal connective tissue, fine grain, almost zero fat. Tender by nature but with no marbling insurance: past medium it dries fast and picks up livery notes. Its flavor is clean, mineral and honestly venison.
Breaking it down
Free each strap by cutting along the spine's vertical bones and then along the ribs' horizontal shelf - the muscle peels out in one long piece. Trim ALL silverskin (the pearly membrane - it contracts and toughens; a sharp flexible knife under one edge, angle up, strip in bands). Portion into roasts, thick medallions (4-5 cm - thin ones overcook in the pan's first minute), or butterfly for stuffing.
How to cook it
Hot and fast to 54-57°C internal, then a real rest: seared whole sections finished in a low oven, thick medallions in a ripping pan with butter-baste, whole straps on a grill's hot side, or reverse-sear for the even-edge crowd. Salt ahead if you can; a simple pan sauce (the fond + stock + butter) outperforms every marinade.
Recipes that fit
Classic pan-seared medallions with garlic-thyme butter; whole roasted strap with a pepper crust; bacon-wrapped stuffed butterflies for the holidays; chilled rare leftovers sliced thin over salad - arguably the best cold roast beef you'll ever fake.
Common mistakes
Cooking past medium (the cardinal sin - lean meat has no mercy), skipping silverskin trim then blaming 'gamey chew', thin medallions grayed through by pan-contact alone, no rest so the juices flood the board, and grinding backstrap in a big-buck year - the freezer's other cuts exist so this one never meets the grinder.
🍳 Home-cooking guidance from the hunting kitchen, not food-safety authority - for temperatures, CWD-area advice and handling rules, follow your official food-safety and wildlife agencies. See our shot to freezer guide for the field-care chain that quality starts with.