Venison Backstrap Appe-Teasers by Becky Lou

Super Bowl 2012. Maybe you watched the game or maybe you didn’t, but in my world it is always a special day that calls for some fantastic food ready to relish at Kickoff!

This year I decided to cook up some of the meat harvested over the last few hunts. I always reminisce when I pull the meat out of the freezer to prepare. If you don’t have memories with your successful hunts, then you are just not looking hard enough, because they are there. On Sunday, I decided to remember the quail and pheasant from my unforgettable winged hunt with “Heartland Huntress” Angie Tesh-Kill, Brenda K Dugan and Kathryn Burnett on Hidden Lakes Hunting resort in Yantis, Texas. I also thought about a little of the coveted backstrap from my buck from a leased property in Winchell, TX. This would be my first time cooking quail or pheasant, but I have prepared many slabs of venison backstrap and tenderloin over the years, and most of the time it ends up as a delectable dish which I have fine tuned and fondly refer to as “Venison Appe-Teasers”.

I love to cook, which is inspired by my “food fetish”, and if you choose to try one of my finely tuned recipes, take note of the necessary notes I make in each one. I want you to enjoy them as much as I do, and I have some helpful hints to avoid ruining your creation, and prompting you to let me know just how wonderful it was…. and possibly sharing some options that you discovered in the process!

A lot of cooks think of preparing food as more of an art, usually taking each recipe and eventually making it their own. This is a recipe I was given a long time ago, and each time I prepare it, it becomes a masterpiece for my mouth!

Recipe ingredients:

1 lb backstrap or tenderloin (can substitute some tender cut of meat)
Cajun seasoning (choose one less salty)
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Thin-sliced bacon
Candied jalapenos/Cowboy Candy – 1-2 slices per chunk of venison (you can substitute pickled jalapenos, but the sweet jalapenos rock!)

Marinade:

1 cup zesty Italian dressing
½ cup Worcestershire
½ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

Cooking instructions:

Trim all fat and membrane from the meat, and cut into 1 ½ inch squares.

Prepare marinade and stir very well, let sit for about 5 minutes, and stir again very well. Letting the seasonings dissolve. Combine with venison in the smallest container possible that has a very tight-fitting lid that allows you to shake and turn while marinating (one that will not leak). Let soak for at least 1 hour or longer, the mo’ the better! I like to leave them in the fridge overnight.

Now comes the important part…pour off ALL the marinade!

Season to taste with Cajun seasoning, onion powder and garlic powder. Fight the urge to add salt, the soy and Worcestershire add lots of salt flavor! Massage the seasoning into the meat for at least 1 minute. Place 1-2 slices of sliced jalapenos on each chunk, wrap in bacon and secure with a toothpick. NOTE: You can usually cut the bacon in halves or thirds and stretch it across a chunk depending on the size of the pieces. I have also skewered these instead of using a toothpick, but it is tricky because the bacon needs to be secured around the venison to baste while cooking and keep the meat from drying out!

Grill over MEDIUM heat turning every 5-7 minutes for 20-25 minutes.

NOTE: It is very easy to over-cook so be very careful, as they are small chunks!

BIG NOTE: Wait to cook until it is time to serve as they tend to dry out!

Enjoy! Like! Share! Comment!

Becky Lou Lacock

Born and raised in Louisiana, my Outdoor adventures began just a short time ago, with a weekend workshop, B.O.W. 'Becoming an Outdoors Woman' in the Spring of 2000. A nationwide program , in Louisiana it is facilitated by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Educational Dept. I was feeling a little adventurous, and chose “Intro to Shotgun” as one of my 4 workshops for the weekend. I had never had the opportunity to shoot guns, and decided that this would be the perfect place to give it a shot! This course required a detailed Firearm Safety course held in a classroom the day before various guns handy for some “hands on” instruction. I was very anxious the day of shooting, but as it unfolded, with patient expert instructors by my side, (helping to muffle the voices inside of me shouting NO! NO! NO! You're a Girl! Its gonna hurt!) I hit the second clay target, thus began my passion for Shooting! I absolutely LOVED it!! I have always loved to fish, sharing many hours with the only outdoor influence in my life growing up, my mother Tommie Lou. She and I spent many hours in the Freshwater Marshes of SW Louisiana, searching for that elusive HOG (Large Mouth Bass) but also pulling in huge Redfish, Speckled trout & Flounder in and around the salt water lake "Big Lake". I always joke that we had to use our running lights to get out to the fishing spots, and we had to also needed them to come in, as we would spend all of the precious daylight fishing hard…. the days were always too short. That was the limit to any outdoor activity for me, but shortly after my "Shooting Incident" I met my husband Lou, and was introduced into hunting, starting with a west Texas whitetail hunt, at which point my life took a drastic turn from inside to "EXTREME OUTSIDE"!! Without a doubt, I am all girl, I don't like bugs, critters, or Snakes, but because of my willingness to Take a Chance, I have learned that a little DIRT..or even or a TICK will not keep me from this new adventure!

With the first hunt of my life being shortly after the workshop, I understand first hand the skepticism that some women have to step outdoors, and I believe that most women just need to be aware of the resources readily available to them, along with a little pinch of encouragement. I have been fortunate to have both, for without it I would not be doing what I am today.

With great encouragement from Greg Martin of RealHuntersJournal, an online resource for outdoor information, I began writing, and going to the industry shows such as Shot Show, ATA, NWTF, and others to review the latest and greatest products in the industry. I met several wonderful people, and began to realize that the people behind the products, TV shows, and outfitters were just down home people, real people just like me! I think of it as a large family, and like most, they may not always agree on every method, design, or camo pattern, but all share a common dream, and ultimately work together to make that dream a reality for the rest of us. I have been blessed with a lot of energy and enthusiasm that just seems to spill out onto everyone around me, I love people and Lord only knows how I like to talk, and over the past few years I have been encouraged to take more of an active part to promote women in the outdoors. I was invited on several exciting hunts to experience many new adventures, and share them. With a style all my own, I have really enjoyed writing. Loaded with lots of adventures and information to share, I started my own website in 2009, www.BeckyLouOutdoors.com. The following year I was asked to participate in a Reality Television series with 5 other women, consisting of 11 episodes. Somehow with my determination, some skill, and a lot of luck, I won the first season competition!! The show was a success, and continues on each year for a new season with 6 new contestants and many new challenges. . In 2010 I was honored to be named Pro Staff for Commando Call Products. I do a lot of freelance writing for many websites and most recently InterMedia Outdoors with an article in print for Dec/Jan 2011/2012 nationwide Game & Fish and also Sportsman. I have a trademark phrase, “Camo can be Classy”TM for women like me that are 110% all girl, but can enjoy the outdoors to whatever level we desire! I have grown to believe that if you Love Life it will Love you back! I hope to provide some information, encouragement and inspiration for women to get out in the Great Outdoors. It has made such a difference in my life, and I truly believe that I am Happier and Healthier because of it! Shooting may not be for everyone, but it is definitely worth a SHOT!