What to do with fillet of venison?

Thanks everyone - I've decided to split it up as its such a big piece and try some medallions as well as a roast. I will cook it to medium rare and see how I like it.

We love doing venison medallions in butter on the stovetop. They only take a minute or so per side, and then you can make a nice pan sauce (onion or shallot, herbs, and wine with a little splash of cream). Don't cut the tenderloin too thin or it will cook too quickly. Venison dries out really fast.

If you are going to overcook it, please give it to someone who will appreciate it. That was an awesome gift you received and needs to be treated well. Medium rare please.

You definitely dont want to braise this.

Medallions, seared over high heat to medium rare s the way to go. Get the pan screaming hot, open the windows and turn up your exhaust fan. A quick pan sauce, sweetened with some blueberry/blackberry jam, port or madeira to deglaze. A few juniper berries and a sprig of rosemary. Basically you want the flavors of the Woods....

Bring it to room temperature, slice it into medallions, rub each one with a little sesame oil and grind on some black pepper. Get your cast iron skillet very hot and sprinkle it with a good amount of kosher salt. Sear each medallion on the skillet for 1 to 2 minutes per side, pink in the center. Serve with a bit of melted butter or bleu cheese on each medallion. Or make a blackberry/port reduction to go with it. This is the only way I ever cook a venison tenderloin. If you have other cuts, try the Julia Child Beef Bourguignon recipe to make stew.

Interesting your asking that question. A friend gave me a small venison tenderloin. There's no fat on it. I'm planning to marinate it, wrap it in bacon and cook it much as I would a beef tenderloin. Stewing a fillet would not produce succulent meat. It's not a piece of meat for long slow cooking.

A good friend makes a wonderful Steak Diane with venison fillet

One thing to keep in mind is that venison is going to be very dry if you cook it much past med- rare. I often use venison in stew or cook a roast in the crockpot and then shred the meat for an italian beef-esque sandwich.
If you do cook it whole - a great option - I like it with a little mustard and rosemary on it and then served with a dipping sauce of plain yogurt (or sour cream) with some horseradish mixed in.

it's much leaner then beef/pork/veal/lamb so i usually sear it at high heat and baste constantly with a bunch of butter, maybe some herbs (rosemary, garlic) in the butter also. it goes great with a red wine based sauce and some fruit (cherry, blueberry and cranberry work well) or even a sauce wiht some cocoa in it. if you don't like it rare just cook it to medium or med-well and serve the sauce over it