Juicy steaks are just a few steps away with this easy venison marinade. All you need are a few simple ingredients to infuse your venison steak with the most wonderful flavor that's full of sweet and savory notes. If you're looking to add some zest to your venison steak routine, give this marinated venison steak recipe a try!
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
Minimal Prep Time: This marinade is made out of simple ingredients you probably already have on hand and comes together in 5 minutes or less!
Juicy & Tender: Cooking venison can be a challenge because it is such a lean meat and can dry out quickly. Marinating is a great way to keep the meat juicy and tender while adding delicious flavor to your steak.
Versatile: You can use this marinade for a simple grilled steak or kebabs. You can also cook the steak in a cast iron pan. My favorite way to use it is to cut steaks or roasts into 1-2" cubes, marinate them, and then bring them camping to cook over a campfire. The way the open flames caramelize the marinade on the outside of the meat is absolutely delicious!
Ingredient Notes:
- Venison Steak: This recipe will work for any deer steak or other wild game meats. You can even use it for stew meat!
- Honey: You can substitute honey with brown sugar or omit it if you don't want to use added sugar.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Most marinades have an acidic ingredient that helps tenderize the meat. Balsamic vinegar is a fairly mild vinegar as far as acidity goes. You can substitute other ingredients like red wine vinegar or lemon juice, but you'll need less of them because they are more acidic.
Equipment Notes:
- Meat Thermometer: A meat thermometer is an essential tool for ensuring a perfectly cooked steak. I like to cook my steaks to 120-125 degrees F for medium-rare.
- Pellet Grill: This recipe uses a pellet grill to cook the steak. But, you can use whatever grill you have or cook the steak in a cast iron skillet or over a campfire!
Step by Step Instructions:
How To Marinate Venison Steak:
The only ingredient you need to prep for this marinade is minced garlic. But, you can use jarred minced garlic to skip that step. Other than that, this marinade comes together very quickly with a few simple ingredients!
Step 1: Pat steaks dry with paper towels.
Step 2: To a shallow dish or resealable bag, add all marinade ingredients (soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, spicy brown mustard, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and black pepper). Stir to combine.
Step 3: Place steaks in the marinade.
Step 4: Turn the steaks a couple of times to make sure they get coated in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 8-24 hours. Flip the steaks at least once during the marinating time.
Pro Tip: Get your steaks marinating in the morning and you'll have an easy weeknight meal in the evening!
How To Grill Marinated Venison Steak:
This marinated venison steak benefits greatly from a nice sear directly over the heat source. The sugars in the marinade caramelize on the surface of the meat to make a delicious crust!
Step 1: Heat grill to 350°F. Remove the steaks from the marinade and let the excess marinade drip off. Let the steaks rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling.
Step 2: Grill the steaks directly over the open flame for 4-5 minutes per side, until grill marks are achieved and the internal temperature reaches 120-125°F for medium-rare. The cooking time will depend largely on the size and thickness of the steaks used.
Step 3: Remove the steaks from the grill and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Step 4: Slice or serve whole. Enjoy!
Pro Tip: To add an extra boost of flavor to your steak, you can brush some of the marinade on the steak while it's cooking. But, make sure the extra marinade has time to cook to the proper temperature before taking the steaks off the grill.
Marinated Venison Steak Cooking Methods:
For the best results, I like to cook this steak on a pellet grill. But you can use other cooking methods as well!
- Pellet Grill: Heat the grill to 350°F and grill steaks directly over the flames for 4-5 minutes per side (depending on steak size) until the internal temperature reaches 120-125°F for medium-rare.
- Gas or Grill: Heat the grill on high and grill steaks directly over the heat source for 4-5 minutes per side (depending on steak size) until the internal temperature reaches 120-125°F for medium-rare.
- Charcoal Grill: Preheat your charcoal with a chimney starter and arrange your grill with a hot zone for searing and a cooler zone for indirect cooking. Grill the steaks directly over the hot charcoal for 1-2 minutes per side. Move the steaks to the cooler zone and cook with indirect heat until the internal temperature reaches 120-125°F for medium-rare.
- Cast Iron Skillet: Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat on a stove top. Add your favorite cooking fat to the pan (I prefer pork lard), and swirl to coat the pan. Add the steaks to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 120-125°F for medium-rare.
- Campfire Whole Steaks: You can use this recipe to cook whole steaks or steak bites over a campfire. For whole steaks, arrange hot coals under a camping grill grate. Grill the steaks for 4-5 minutes per side (depending on steak size and coal temperature) until the internal temperature reaches 120-125°F for medium-rare.
- Campfire Steak Bites: Cut steaks or roasts into 1-2" cubes (or use stew meat) and marinate for 8-24 hours. You can grill the steak bites using a camping grill grate over coals or cook them individually on sharpened sticks. Cook steak bites directly over the coals until the outsides are browned and the insides have reached your desired doneness.
What to Serve with Venison Steak:
Venison steak is always the star of the meal but it pairs well with many simple sides. Grilled potatoes, roasted cauliflower, delicata squash, or a simple green salad with homemade dressing are some of my favorite side dishes for steak. No matter how you choose to serve it, you're going to love this easy marinated venison steak recipe!
Recipe FAQ's:
Acidic marinades are meant to break down the muscle fibers and tenderize meat. If meat is left for too long in the marinade, it can become mushy and mealy. Venison shouldn't be marinated for more than 24 hours in most cases.
You don't need to marinate venison to make it delicious, but it can add some extra flavor. Try this easy sweet and savory venison steak marinade!
Marinating is a great way to achieve juicy, tender venison steaks. The acidity of the marinade helps tenderize the meat while the salt content helps lock in moisture.
If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to me and fellow readers. And if you want more delicious wild game recipes, subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Recipe:
Marinated Venison Steak
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb venison steak (sirloin, round, loin, etc.)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoon garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Pat steaks dry with paper towels.
- To a shallow dish or resealable bag, add all marinade ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Place steaks in the marinade. Turn the steaks a couple of times to make sure they get coated in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 8-24 hours. Flip the steaks at least once during the marinating time.
- Heat grill to 350°F.
- Remove the steaks from the marinade and let the excess marinade drip off. Let the steaks rest at room temperature 30 minutes before grilling.
- Grill the steaks directly over the open flame for 4-5 minutes per side, until grill marks are achieved and the internal temperature reaches 120-125°F for medium-rare. The cooking time will depend largely on the size and thickness of the steaks used.
- Remove the steaks from the grill and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving. Slice or serve whole. Enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe will work for any deer steak or other wild game meats. You can even use it for stew meat!
- You can substitute honey with brown sugar or omit it if you don't want to use added sugar.
- Most marinades have an acidic ingredient that helps tenderize the meat. Balsamic vinegar is a fairly mild vinegar as far as acidity goes. You can substitute other ingredients like red wine vinegar or lemon juice, but you'll need less of them because they are more acidic.
- A meat thermometer is an essential tool for ensuring a perfectly cooked steak. I like to cook my steaks to 120-125 degrees F for medium-rare.
- This recipe uses a pellet grill to cook the steak. But, you can use whatever grill you have or cook the steak in a cast iron skillet or over a campfire! See the recipe post for specifics on different cooking methods.
- To add an extra boost of flavor to your steak, you can brush some of the marinade on the steak while it's cooking. But, make sure the extra marinade has time to cook to the proper temperature before taking the steaks off the grill.
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