Thursday, September 20, 2012

Tasty Thursday 9/20/12

Fall is moving in, and around Virginia that means deer hunting season is close at hand.  We are very much about self sufficiency and doing what we can to live off of the land.  I garden each year and can my own vegetables and fruits.  My husband is an avid deer hunter and I normally freeze stew meat, roasts, tenderloin, and ground venison.  I often find that I don't really know what to do with it all other than pot roasts and tenderloin steaks breaded and fried.  This year I plan on canning a lot more of the stew meat and making my own deer/pork sausage.  One recipe I found this week is from AllRecipes.com (my fave recipe site) and it sounds like a super yummy twist on the boring ole tenderloin.

Grilled Venison Backstrap by TIKCUF99 ~ AllRecipes.com 

Grilled Venison Backstrap Recipe    
Photo credit from Cyndi at AllRecipes.com


Basically, you're marinating tenderloin chunks twice, once in apple cider and once in bbq sauce. Then you wrap it in bacon and cook on the grill!  I think I'd love ANYTHING wrapped in bacon! I couldn't find apple cider at my grocery store, so hopefully it'll still be okay with 100% apple juice.....we'll see.  I love this recipe because it's taking the healthy venison (which is practically fat free) and wrapping it in heavenly bacon . By grilling it, you're not letting the bacon and tenderloin sit in the bacon fat, it's wrapped enough to flavor it, but a lot of the fat burns off during cooking and goes down into the nasty grease pit under your grill!

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds venison backstrap, cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 quart apple cider
  • 1 1/2 pounds thick sliced bacon
  • 2 (12 ounce) bottles barbecue sauce, your choice

Directions

  1. Place chunks of venison into a shallow baking dish, and pour enough apple cider in to cover them. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove, and pat dry. Discard apple cider, and return venison to the dish. Pour barbeque sauce over the chunks, cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 more hours.
  2. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Remove meat from the refrigerator, and let stand for 30 minutes, or until no longer chilled. Wrap each chunk of venison in a slice of bacon, and secure with toothpicks.
  3. Brush the grill grate with olive oil when hot, and place venison pieces on the grill so they are not touching. The bacon will kick up some flames, so be ready. Grill, turning occasionally, until the bacon becomes slightly burnt, 15 to 20 minutes. 
 Do you all have any good venison recipes to share?

11 comments:

HappyMrsBass said...

Oh yum! We love venison backstrap 'round these here parts ;) I am thankful that my hubby is a great hunter, so we always a a freezer full of venison. He would love this recipe... bookmarking for later :)

Alisha K said...

My dad is an avid hunter and we grew up on about every kind of animal I can think of, now that I am older I can't bring myself to eat anything unless it comes directly prepackaged from the store.

Tina @ My Highest Self said...

I will admit I've never tried venison but everyone tells me it's wonderful. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Anne said...

I've never eaten venison, can you believe it?

Sofia said...

I've never had venison...the recipe sounds good though! I might have to use some other meat instead of the venison

Megan Sutliff said...

I'm going to pass this recipe onto my uncle, thanks!

Ashley B. said...

My husband is an avid hunter but I have yet to try venison. I am going to share your recipe with hubby, it looks delicious :)

Brittney Minor said...

When can I come over or dinner? Those look pretty good! I also like that you hunt for your own meat!

Anonymous said...

I've never tried venison but this looks delicious! Apple cider, bbq sauce & bacon are all fantastic in my book! Sounds perfect for fall :)

Unknown said...

Found you via your comment on Motherhood on the Rocks---this looks great! My husband will love having something new to do with his venison :)

Barb said...

Personally, I think anything wrapped in bacon is going to be good. :)