• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Forager | Chef
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Interviews
  • Partnerships
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Interviews
  • Partnerships
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Interviews
    • Partnerships
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Wild Mushroom Recipes

    Venison Tenderloin Crusted with Dried Morels

    Published: Nov 21, 2018 Modified: Mar 24, 2023 Author: Alan Bergo

    Jump to Recipe

    Here's a quick, easy recipe I whipped up the other day to celebrate butchering my first deer of the season: pan seared venison tenderloin or backstrap crusted in dried morels. I'll skip the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, thank you very much.

    Venison tenderloins crusted with dried morel mushrooms recipe
    Venison and morels were born to be together.

    I'm definitely not the first to think of it, but it's worth sharing. It was great to finally be able to cook some deer tenderloin all to myself as a reward for putting in a couple hours skinning and butchering. 

    I've crusted all sorts of things with dried mushrooms, especially lobsters, but morels in particular, to me, seemed to want to be paired with deer steaks, there's just something about it that speaks to the Midwesterner in me.

    But, if you don't have morels, this is a fun recipe you can make with lots of dried wild mushrooms. I'll mention a few alternates you could use further on in the post. 

    How to make it 

    The method is easy and could be used for any part of the deer you'd cook like a steak. True tenderloins are the best though, since they're small enough that you can roll them around to completely coat them with the dried mushrooms. 

    To make it, all you do is season your tenderloin up with salt, pepper, and a little fresh thyme if you have some, if not, no biggie.

    Venison tenderloins crusted with dried morel mushrooms recipe
    Let the meat come to room temperature.
    Venison tenderloins crusted with dried morel mushrooms recipe
    Crust with the mushrooms.
    Venison tenderloins crusted with dried morel mushrooms recipe
    Saute gently in butter.

    Roll the tenderloins around in the crushed morels, melt a little butter in a pan, then when it's up to medium high heat brown them up. Most importantly, don't over cook them. You're looking for a perfect medium rare here.

    Venison tenderloins crusted with dried morel mushrooms recipe
    The mushroom crust should be brown.
    Venison tenderloins crusted with dried morel mushrooms recipe
    let it rest before slicing.

    Using butter vs oil 

    A note on the butter. I like to use butter when I cook things crusted with dried mushrooms as you get the conductive heat from the pan, and it will brown, but it's gentler than just frying it in oil or lard. Since the mushrooms are dried, in a sense you're just browning the mushrooms, not the venison, if that makes any sense.

    Cooking in plain oil would make it easier for the mushroom crust to burn, but with the butter, the milk solids help to ensure a gentle browning, hedging your bet against anything getting too dark.

    Venison tenderloins crusted with dried morel mushrooms recipe

    Variations 

    There's lots of different ways you can make something similar, even if you don't have tenderloins or dried morels. Here's a few different cut's I might use, and some other mushrooms that work well as a crust. 

    Alternate venison cuts 

    • Backstrap/Loin
    • Gooseneck roast (a small roast from the leg) 
    • Steaks cut from the top round 

    Alternate dried mushrooms

    • Black trumpet mushrooms
    • Porcini 
    • Lobster Mushrooms 
    Venison tenderloins crusted with dried morel mushrooms recipe
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Pan Fried Venison Tenderloin with Morel Crust

    Decadent venison tenderloins crusted with morel mushrooms is a great way to celebrate the hunt.
    Prep Time15 minutes mins
    Cook Time5 minutes mins
    Total Time20 minutes mins
    Course: Appetizer, Main Course
    Cuisine: French
    Keyword: morel mushrooms, Venison tenderloin
    Servings: 1 Serving
    Calories: 405kcal
    Author: Alan Bergo
    Cost: 5

    Equipment

    • 1 10 inch saute pan or cast iron skillet

    Ingredients

    • 6 oz Venison tenderloin ~ 1 tenderloin
    • Dried morel mushrooms ground in a spice grinder, about 1.5 tablespoons for each tenderloin
    • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
    • Fresh chopped thyme optional, to taste
    • 2 tablespoons Unsalted butter or a combination of butter and oil, for cooking

    Instructions

    • Allow the tenderloins to rest at room temperature until you're ready to cook, about 30 minutes.
    • Season the tenderloins with salt, pepper and thyme if using. Roll the tenderloins generously in the dried morels, pressing down firmly to help the coating adhere.
    • Meanwhile, in a cast iron skillet or another non-stick pan, heat the butter on medium heat until melted, hot and foaming.
    • Add the tenderloin(s), brown gently on each side for a minute or two (I like mine about 135-140F in the center) until the morel crust is golden, then remove to a warm place on a paper towel to rest for a few minutes before cutting to help the juices redistribute.
    • Serve immediately.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 6oz | Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.02g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 205mg | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 548mg | Sugar: 0.02g | Vitamin A: 700IU | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 6mg

    More 

    Forager's Guide to Morel Mushrooms

     

    « A Northwoods Garum
    Sunchoke Flour & Maple Sugar Beignets »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Hayley

      January 13, 2021 at 6:29 pm

      5 stars
      So simple and amazing flavor!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        January 14, 2021 at 9:42 am

        Glad you liked it.

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Chef Alan Bergo

    HI, I'm Alan: James Beard Award-winning Chef, Author, Show Host and Forager. I've been writing about cooking wild food here for over a decade. Let me show you why foraging is the most delicious thing you'll ever do.

    More about me →

    Get The Book

    the forager chef's book of flora
    The Forager Chefs Book of Flora

    As Seen On

    An image showing many different brands and media companies forager chef alan bergo has worked with.

    Footer

    Privacy

    Subscribe

    Be the first to hear what I'm doing

    Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 Forager | Chef LLC® Accessibility Statement

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.