Peanut and Sesame Crusted Tenderloin
he crust is deceptive. It looks like a fairly ordinary coating, but it’s actually loaded with the flavor of roasted peanuts and toasted sesame seeds. I prefer to use more tender cuts of venison like tenderloins, but hindquarter muscles work just as well, provided that you first tenderize them with a mallet or other tenderizing device. Buy your sesame seeds in the Asian or Hispanic section of your market. They’re much cheaper there than in the spice section.
Peanut and Sesame Crusted Tenderloin
Servings: 4 to 6 appetizer servings
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 tenderloins depending on the size of the animal
- 1 1/2 cups dry roasted peanuts
- 2/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- peanut oil
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
Peanut Dipping Sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon pickled ginger
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- 1 lime juice only
- 1 tablespoon Asian Chili Garlic Sauce Sriracha
- 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine peanuts, sesame seeds and salt. Transfer to wide plate. In a small bowl, combine mustard, sesame oil and soy sauce and blend well.
- Add peanut dipping sauce ingredients to blender, and process until smooth.
- Evenly coat meat with mustard mixture. Roll coated meat into peanut and sesame seed mixture, pressing down so that coating sticks to tenderloin.
- Heat a thin layer of peanut oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Carefully add coated tenderloin, and lightly brown on one side. Flip over and brown the other side. Drizzle lime juice over meat, remove meat from pan, and let rest for a few minutes before slicing into 1/2-inch thick medallions with a sharp, thin-bladed knife. Arrange on a plate with dipping sauce on the side.