Venison Backstrap Medallions With Wild Blackberry Sauce
- Christine Thomas
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
August 2026
We had a few wild blackberries at the little cabin despite the July drought. Not enough for any large projects. Shannon Honl, my daughter, was visiting and I wanted to do something special with son-in-law, Dan Honl's 2025 backstrap. This recipe was a big hit, if a lot of work. It is meant to supplement my article in Issue 18 2026 in Wisconsin Outdoor News. The flavors were a perfect meld of rich, sweet, and earthy. The recipe is loosely based upon on jesspryles.com. I love that the venison and berries are both fruit of the little cabin land. Enjoy.
Ingredients for Venison Backstrap with Wild Blackberry Sauce
Sauce Ingredients
1 pint fresh wild blackberries
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup milk
Juice and zest of one lemon
3 cloves
2 star anise
Ingredients for blackberry sauce
In a small sauce pan, combine the sauce ingredients. Bring ingredients to a boil and simmer until the berries soften, the sugar dissolves, and the berries give up their juice. At that point, transfer the sauce to a blender and pulse a few times. then transfer the sauce to a fine sieve and using a spoon, force the juice through the wire. When you have extracted the good part, discard the seeds and return the sauce to the pan. Simmer on low until the sauce thickens slightly. Set aside until it is time to use it. The sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer.
Venison Backstrap
Cut venison backstrap into 2-inch medallions. Melt butter in a heavy pan on medium heat. When the butter is melted, but not smoking, add the venison medallions. Leave them in place on medium heat until they brown on one side and release from the pan. Then flip and repeat. Grind fresh pepper and salt onto each side as you go. When a thermapen registers 120 or so in the middle, the medallions are done. Set aside to rest.
I served these over egg dumpling noodles. Follow the package directions. When the noodles are done, add butter and chopped fresh herbs. I used herbs from my kitchen garden, what I call the Scarborough Fair blend: parsley, sage. rosemary, and thyme.
Place the noodles on a platter, arrange the venison on top. Serve the sauce on the side.
This was a delicious and elegant way to celebrate harvesting your own food. Enjoy!
In my Wisconsin Outdoor News article, I mentioned harvesting berries with my Airedale, GCH Coldstream Major Mischief. Adding this cute video of him as a puppy enjoying berry picking at the little cabin.
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