Grilled Wedge Venison Steak Salad
We as hunters usually focus on meat-centered dishes and don’t consider a salad when preparing our wild game. Although this is generally my program as well, it’s nice to mix up the routine with a different end product. Don’t let this salad fool you — it is loaded with flavor and is very filling. By grilling the lettuce and serving the salad hot with three forms of protein, it is a perfect healthy meal. Try this grilled salad, and you won’t be disappointed.
Ingredients
1 ½ –2 pounds venison backstrap
Salt and Pepper to taste
1–2 tablespoons olive oil
2 full hearts of romaine, cut in half lengthwise
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil
6 strips of bacon, diced and fried
½ purple onion, chopped
4 hard boiled eggs
1 cup shaved parmesan cheese
1 cup croutons
Dressing
2 egg yolks
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Juice from ½ a lemon
Directions
Toppings
Hard boil your eggs. I use an instant pot, as I have found the eggs peel so much easier after 1 minute under pressure. After the eggs are cooled, peel them and cut in slices or quarters. Chop 6 strips of bacon in 1/4-inch strips, and cook over medium heat in a small frying pan. Once the edges of the bacon are starting to brown, remove the pan from the heat. Scoop the bacon out of the pan with a slotted metal spoon onto a plate lined with a couple layers of paper towels to drain. Chop the purple onion, and shave your block of parmesan cheese with a hand-held peeler.
Dressing
Add all ingredients to a medium-size bowl and whisk well until everything is smooth and incorporated.
Backstrap
Thaw the backstrap and trim off all silver skin. Salt and pepper the backstrap on all sides and place in a zip-close bag with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss the meat in the bag of oil so the oil coats all sides of the backstrap. The meat can be stored in the zip-close bag in the refrigerator for 1 hour to 3 days prior to cooking. Place the bagged meat on a plate in case the bag leaks.
Take the backstrap out of the refrigerator, and allow it to come to room temperature before cooking.
Heat the grill to medium heat (350-400 F) and place meat on the grill. Grill it for 4 to 7 minutes per side depending on the thickness of your meat. Flip the meat, and grill for an additional 4 to 6 minutes or until the internal temperature is 120 F or your desired temperature. Remove the backstrap from the grill, and let it rest on a cutting board.
Romaine Lettuce
Cut each heart of romaine head in half lengthwise so that the base holds all the leaves in place. Pour the olive oil onto a cookie sheet with a lip, and place the cut side of the romaine lettuce down in the oil. Lift off the oiled cookie sheet and lightly salt and pepper the cut side of the head of lettuce. Continue to oil, salt and pepper each cut half of the romaine.
Cook the romaine hearts oiled and cut side down on the grill on high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. You will want some of the edges to blacken and have grill marks. Remove the lettuce halves from the grill once some dark char marks are evident on the leaves.
Serve each half of the romaine lettuce grilled side up on large serving plates. Top each half with the sliced egg, bacon bits, onion, shaved parmesan cheese and croutons. Drizzle each salad lightly with dressing and finish by topping it all off with thinly sliced medallions of backstrap steak. Serve with a steak knife and enjoy!