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 

   
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?