8
servings
2
whole venison backstraps,
1
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
1
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! 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.