After a successful hunting season, nothing is more satisfying than taking your cooking skills to the next level and creating the perfect meal from game meat. Every hunter knows the most prized piece of meat they get from an animal is the backstrap, of course. You can cut them down into steaks or cook them whole, but every once in a while you have to venture out and add a little variety to life. Today's Smoked Bacon Wrapped Venison Backstrap recipe calls for just half a backstrap so you can still enjoy your traditional same old same old stuff with the other half and still feel good about yourself and life decisions, though you may end up applying this one to the whole damn thing sooner than you think! It is also a great way to use up any leftovers from last season before heading out to the woods this year so sit back and start sipping on that brewski as I walk you through this simple, yet delicious smoked backstrap recipe. Let's get cooking!
Hopefully of any you hunters out there not completely worthless already process your own kills and know all the tricks and tips already, but just in case, the number one step of any venison recipe should be to remove any silver skin and sinew as it will not be tasty or helpful to our cooking endeavor! Spend the time when you first break down your animal to remove as much as possible rather than waiting till you plan on cooking any cuts of meat. Yeah I know it takes forever and you have to be meticulous if you don't want to waste any meat, but it is worth it in the end when you show up to the party with your friends with the perfect backstrap. Feel free to use an entire backstrap, but I think half is plenty for hearty meal for a few buddies or your family.
Once your backstrap is trimmed and cleaned up, make up the dry rub I have posted on the recipe card or use your favorite rub of choice. Either way, you will want several tablespoons of dry rub to ensure the backstrap is well seasoned. Any leftover rub can be sprinkled over the bacon we will wrap this meat puppy in later so get that dry rub on and fire up your smoker while you are at it. Unless you are taking down monster bucks, the backstrap should warm up to room temperature during the prep process so no need to have it sitting around extra killing time waiting on the smoker to hit 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
Make sure you get a good coating all over then wrap the backstrap with some quality thick cut bacon. It is a lean cut of meat so some fatty bacon really helps keep it moist and tender during the cooking process so you don't end up with dry ass backstrap jerky. Finish things up with the rest of your rub and hopefully your smoker is ready to go. You can use the oven, of course, but that extra kick of smoke flavor really brings this Bacon Wrapped Venison Backstrap to Downtown Flavortown!
Nothing left to it but just to do it so pop this flavor bomb in the smoker and let it do its thing for a couple hours. I can't tell you an exact time because every backstrap is different, of course, so just set a remote thermometer and wait for the beep at an internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit!
Mine only took 90 minutes, but whenever you finally reach 140 degrees, pull your backstrap from the smoker and let it rest about 10 minutes prior to slicing. This will give the juices some time to redistribute throughout meat making it juicy and delicious rather than pouring all over your cutting board looking like a bloody murder scene. The dry rub I used had plenty of brown sugar that essentially melted into a glaze as the backstrap cooked, but depending on your dry rub, you may want to slather on some barbecue sauce around that 130 degree internal temperature range so it has time to thicken up and soak into the bacon. You really can't screw it up too badly so do whatever floats your boat and report back if you did manage to completely screw the pooch so we can share and tell others to avoid your mistake! #VenisonBackstrapLivesMatter!
I have to admit this turned out much quicker and better than I ever expected. You just can't beat a nice piece of meat, a few spices, a little bacon, and a quick smoke! If yours turns out anything like mine, be sure to keep the family and friends at bay. As soon as I started slicing mine people started swarming the kitchen trying to get a nibble here and there. I managed to get a few slices for myself before my 7 year old basically walked away with the rest and gobbled it down like he had not eaten in days. He was super excited to tell me how delicious and thankful he was at least....a small bonus, eh? I even tried to tell him it was Bambi and he just replied, "Bambi is soooo tasty!" Anyway, I hope you get to enjoy a bit more of yours than I did, but either way just get that backstrap out of the freezer and onto your plate the next time you get a chance. Be creative with your seasoning, go wild with some finishing sauce, and make something delicious....just keep cooking!
SMOKED BACON WRAPPED VENISON BACKSTRAP
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