It’s not often that we get a new cut of venison. Available for the first time in the United States, the venison tri-tip is a unique cut that is perfect for the grill. Usually, our professional chefs get to try a product first, but with the tri-tip, our home cooks are being introduced to it simultaneously.
Grass-fed in New Zealand, our tender venison is the first choice among four-star chefs, and will be your go-to red meat for an easy weeknight meal or a backyard party. But it doesn’t take a culinary genius to turn venison into a beautiful meal.
Venison tri-tip is a compact, tender cut, and works well when grilled. Start with the fat-cap side down, then flip and finish for just a few minutes (keep it medium-rare).
We recommend keeping all venison as rare as possible, to best enjoy the lean texture and rich flavor. This dense, fine-grained meat has no fat to speak of, so it’s always better when left on the rare side.
- Remove any silver skin
It’s Always Venison Season
Think of venison as an all-season meat. Take it out to the grill in the summer and serve with a fresh salad or grilled vegetables.
Sear venison stove-top in fall and winter and pair with seasonal root vegetables, chestnuts or dried fruits.
In spring, venison is bold enough to take the strong flavor of ramps, and yet works with tender asparagus and butter lettuce.
About D’Artagnan Venison
Our venison comes from a group of small-scale ranchers in New Zealand who raise Red deer according to the strict standards required by the Cervena name.
Cervena is a trademarked appellation which certifies that all the venison with their label has been humanely pasture-raised, and 100% grass-fed with only minimal supplemental feed such as hay. The pristine pastures of New Zealand offer conditions that are essentially wild, but in which the ranchers can still monitor and protect the deer.
- Red deer in a New Zealand pasture.
One of the Cervena standards is a rejection of steroids, growth hormones and antibiotics. Only in cases of extreme disease will antibiotics be administered, and then the animal is tracked and not allowed to be processed.
Cervena also requires that animals be less than three years of age at the time of processing, which takes place only at accredited facilities that are specifically licensed and regularly audited by an independent agency.
All of this focused care brings out the best in the venison; it is lean, consistently tender, deep red and full of sweet flavor.
Explore our venison recipes and other venison cuts at dartagnan.com.