Bacon-Wrapped Venison Backstrap

by Danny Kennedy

For all you Texas white-tail deer lovers, here's a legendary venison backstrap recipe you won't soon forget. It's from pitmaster Malcom Reed, who is a big fan of wild game, and he deer hunts. He typically will harvest a couple deer for for the family each season, and one of Malcom's favorite preparations for white-tail deer is stuffed backstrap - the loin of the animal; it’s the tender meat sitting right along the backbone on each side.

Here's what you'll need

Image of all ingredients needed for this receipe.

For this recipe, Malcom makes a slit down the length of the venison backstrap to butterfly it open (like a book).

Image of cutting a slit down the middle of the backstrap to prep it for stuffing.

Next, open the backstrap like a book and lightly use the 10derizer to lightly prep the side of the backstrap that will be the inside side of the wrapped-up backstrap. Season both sides liberally with salt and pepper when finished.

Then the backstrap gets stuffed with a mixture of cream cheese, bacon, mushrooms, onion, and parsley. The whole thing gets wrapped in bacon to hold it together and to add a little fat because Texas white-tail deer is incredibly lean meat.

A series of 4 images depicting the steps by which to stuff the backstrap.

Malcom states that It takes about 30 minutes on the smoker to fully cook, and you'll want to run the pit at 350⁰ to brown the bacon.

Image of two backstraps cooking on the smoker.

It’s best served medium rare so get it off the pit when you see the temperature around 125-130 internal. I’m using a Thermoworks Thermapen instant-read thermometer to check the internal temps. You can check out the thermometer here.

Image of backstraps on the smoker with the author measuring the temperature with a meat thermometer.

Just like any other cut of meat, let the bacon-wrapped stuffed venison backstrap rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Slice the backstrap into steak size portions about 1” in width and enjoy.

Image of fully-cooked stuffed backstrap sliced on cutting board.

 Ingredients

  • 1-2 Whole white-tail venison backstraps (loin)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 8 ounces Baby portabella mushrooms, chopped
  • 1/4 cup crumbled bacon (about 6 slices, previously cooked)
  • 1 Small yellow onion, diced
  • 2 Tbsp bacon drippings
  • 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 2 pounds bacon
  • 2 Tbsp Killer Hogs AP Rub
  • 2 Tbsp Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub

Instructions

Prepare Pellet Smoker, or any other bbq grill, for indirect cooking at 350⁰. Add your favorite wood to the hot coals for smoke flavor. In the pellet grill, Malcom uses a combination of Pecan, Oak, and Cherry cooking pellets.

To prepare the stuffing, sauté onions and mushrooms in bacon drippings over medium heat. Add room temperature cream cheese. Fold in crumbled bacon and parsley.

Trim excess silver skin from venison backstraps, and cut a slit down the length to butterfly it open. Be careful not to cut through the entire piece.

Next, open the backstrap like a book and lightly use the 10derizer to lightly prep the side of the backstrap that will be the inside side of the wrapped-up backstrap. Season both sides liberally with salt and pepper when finished.

Season with AP rub and stuff with cream cheese mixture.

Wrap the outside with strips of bacon and season with Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub.

Place each backstrap on a wire cooling rack and set on the smoker.

Cook until internal temperature reaches 130 degrees or your desired doneness. The bacon should be brown on the outside.

Allow the backstrap to rest for 10 minutes and cut into individual pieces for serving.

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