Deer Tenderloin with Champagne Cream Sauce

Top crispy fried tenderloin and buttery pasta with this delicious champagne cream sauce

By author of Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes Print Recipe
prep time
cook time
4-6
serves
Medium
difficulty

You can’t go wrong with fried tenderloin from a freshly harvested deer. Be it whitetail or mule deer, the tenderloin is usually one of our first meals, often getting consumed before we ever leave camp. 

This recipe is as delicious as it is simple, which makes it the perfect meal for a family on the go.

To give your tenderloin a tasty twist, top it with this quick and easy champagne cream sauce. Make it in a pan as your tenderloin fries. For extra tenderness, we pound the tenderloin flat with a meat mallet before frying. Serve atop buttery pasta to make it a meal. 

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Ingredients

2 large tenderloins or 4 medium sized, pounded to ½" thickness 

1 cup flour seasoned with a teaspoon each salt, pepper and garlic powder, and a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Cooked pasta of choice, tossed with melted butter after draining

Oil for frying

Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley for garnish

 

Sauce

1 cup champagne or sparkling white wine

1 large or 2 medium shallots, diced

1 cup heavy cream

1 stick salted butter, cut into small pats

4 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Black pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions

Start by cutting the tenderloins in half if they come from a large deer. Trim away any fat or connective tissue.

Trim the tenderloin.

Place the tenderloin pieces, one at a time, into a gallon sized ziplock back. Pound the tenderloin flat with a meat mallet. Repeat with remaining tenderloin. 

Cut the tenderloin into serving size pieces and pound flat.

Dredge the flattened tenderloin in the seasoned flour. Heat ½ inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. 

Dredge the tenderloin in the seasoned flour.

While the oil heats, start the sauce by combining the shallot, champagne, and vinegar in a medium saucepan.

The sauce only has a few ingredients.

Bring the mixture to a light boil. Cook 6-8 minutes or until the mixture has reduced by about a third. 

Reduce the sauce until it thickens.

While the sauce cooks, fry the tenderloin 3-5 minutes per side until crisp and golden brown. Move the cooked tenderloin to a warm platter and continue cooking until all meat is done.

Fry the tenderloin to a crispy golden brown.

To finish the sauce, add the heavy cream and reduce the heat. Simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk in the butter a piece at a time. Return the sauce to the warm burner to hold for plating. 

To plate, toss cooked angel hair pasta with butter to coat. Pile pasta on a plate, top with fried tenderloin, then spoon over the sauce. Add freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired, just before serving.

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