• 2.5-3lb venison tenderloin
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 2 cups coarse sea salt
• 1 medium acorn squash (sliced in half and de-seeded)
• 1 tbsp butter or coconut oil
• 6 marrow bones

Preparation

Step 1: Pack it up pack it in.

Place the tenderloin on a foil lined baking sheet. Slightly wet the sea salt and pack it around the tenderloin. Rub butter or coconut oil on the cut side of your acorn squash and place it, cut side down, on another baking sheet covered in foil. Put both the tenderloin and the squash in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.

After 30 minutes, remove the tenderloin, and set aside. Turn the oven temperature up to 450 degrees and put the marrow bones on the baking sheet that the tenderloin was on. Allow the bones to cook for an additional 15-20 minutes. When done, the marrow should be slightly pulling away from the inside of the bones and soft enough to spoon out (we’ll talk more about that later.) The acorn squash should also be finished cooking at this time. If the rind-side is soft and giving, it is ready to be removed.

Step 2: Rinse and cut.

Scrape the salt crust off of the tenderloin. You may also want to rinse it in running water if you want to further reduce the amount of salt remaining on the outside. Slice the tenderloin thin.

Step 3: Put it on the plate.

Place three marrow bones and 1/2 of the acorn squash on each plate along with a generous portion of sliced tenderloin. Season the tenderloin with a generous grind of fresh black pepper.

Step 4: Stuff the squash.

Using a small spoon (or a special “marrow spoon”), scoop the marrow out of the bones and put it into the roasted acorn squash. Make sure to get a little marrow in with each bite of acorn squash and follow with a piece of tenderloin.