Title: Stuffed Venison Pinwhells
Categories: Meat Game
Yield: 8 Servings
| 2 | | Whole venison backstraps, |
| | | Rolled out 1/4 in. thick |
| 1 | qt | Whole milk |
| 2 | ts | Wild game seasoning |
| 1 | lb | Velveeta cheese |
| 1 | cn | Rotel tomatoes with diced |
| | | Chiles |
| 2 | lb | Thinly sliced lean bacon |
| 1/2 | c | Thinly sliced green onions |
| 8 | | 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, 1/4 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 1/4 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