Stuffed venison pinwhells

Yield: 8 Servings

Measure Ingredient
2 \N Whole venison backstraps,
\N \N Rolled out 1/4 in. thick
1 quart Whole milk
2 teaspoons Wild game seasoning
1 pounds Velveeta cheese
1 can Rotel tomatoes with diced
\N \N Chiles
2 pounds Thinly sliced lean bacon
½ cup Thinly sliced green onions
8 \N Cloves garlic, finely mince

First, prepare the backstrap fillet. It's an extremely tender tubelike piece of meat about 12 inches long and 2 to 3 inches in diameter. And because of its shape, it can be cut around the perimeter, ¼ inch thick, and rolled out flat. To do this, you need a very sharp knife.

Start by laying out the fillet perpendicular to your body and making a shallow slice about ¼ inch deep in the meat. Then, as if slicing through and unrolling paper towels from a roll, begin working around the outside perimeter of the fillet until the backstrap comes out looking like a round steak. It takes a little practice to do ... but you can do it! When the meat is ready, place both pieces into a glass or plastic container and cover them with whole milk. You want to marinate the venison for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.

The milk tenderizes the deer and helps to remove any unwanted gamey flavor. After the marination process, remove the meat from the milk (you can discard the milk), and pat the venison dry with several paper towels. Then liberally sprinkle both sides with wild game seasoning and rub it briskly into the meat. At this point, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, in your food processor, mix together the Velveeta cheese and the Rotel tomatoes until smooth and creamy.

When you're ready to make the pinwheels, spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture evenly over one side of the deer. Then place a layer of bacon strips - side by side - on top of the cheese. Finish up the preparation by lightly sprinkling on a little sliced green onions and a little minced garlic. Now tightly roll up the flattened fillets and set them aside momentarily. Then on the same work surface, lay out another 8 to 10 strips of bacon side by side and put one of the rolled backstraps on top of them. Now wrap the bacon strips around the venison and pin them in place with toothpicks. When you are finished, the backstrap should be completely encased in bacon strips.

Repeat with the other backstrap. All that's left is to take a sharp knife, slice the rolled venison into 2 inch thick pinwheels, position them on a shallow cookie sheet, and bake them - uncovered - in the oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. You'll notice that a light sauce will form in the bottom of the cookie sheet; you can use this to baste the pinwheels as they cook. The one thing you don't want to do is overcook the venison - it will come out dry and chewy instead of juicy and tender if you do! Chef's Note: If you don't have wild game seasoning on hand, you can lightly sprinkle the venison with salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and sweet basil as a substitute. Unfortunately, most spice manufacturers don't make a premixed wild game seasoning, but my company does. If you'd like me to send you some, simply call 1-800-742-4231

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