My Young Hunter & Venison Recipes

Hey everyone!  Did you all have a good holiday break?  It's been a fabulous break for me from church cooking, homeschooling, and everyday routine work.  My family and I did lots of movie watching, de-cluttering, and cleaning the house.  Now that I'm feeling rested and somewhat organized, I am super excited about  blogging again. 

Let me introduce you to my young friend, Breck.  

  Breck comes from a long generation of godly Christians.  His great-granddaddy was the pastor of my church many years ago, and I have known Breck, now a senior at Savannah Christian Prep School, since he was a toothless kindergartener.  An avid hunter since he was six years old, he is my go-to person for the freshest and best tasting venison.  

Thanks to Breck, my freezer is stocked with ground venison and tenderloin until the next deer season, and I'm happy to share a few of my favorite venison recipes with you.  

Venison sliders are my family's favorite meal.  We assemble our own miniature sliders with our favorite toppings.  And I recently tried the bacon wrapped venison tenderloin, (photo at top) simply the best and most flavorful way to eat this lean protein.  

These photos were featured on Miss Sophie's food article on Savannah Morning News.
Click here to read more about Breck, and about how deer is handled after a hunt for the best taste.  

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Bacon Wrapped Venison Tenderloin

Adapted by Food.com

*Also works for elk, or moose loin

1 to 1 1/2 lbs venison tenderloin
1/2 lb bacon ( Plain, thin-sliced bacon is best)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cups soy sauce, regular
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
3 cloves of grated garlic
White sugar for sprinkling

 1. In a gallon size ziplock baggie, put brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire, grated garlic, and mix well.  Add tenderloin and seal it well, pressing out any air in the bag. Refrigerate and marinate at least 4 hours or overnight.

 2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Take the loin out of the marinade, reserving the marinade. Lightly pat dry with a paper towel, so the marinade doesn't drip so much. Fold the thin edge of the tenderloin under, shaping it into a 6-inch log.

 3. Drape thin bacon slices across the loin. Flip the loin over carefully and secure the bacon onto the tenderloin with 3-4 toothpicks. Turn the bacon wrapped loin over, ensuring toothpicks are under the meat. Put loin on a jelly roll pan lined with foil (for easy clean up later). Sprinkle the top of bacon with white sugar.

 4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Brush bacon top with remaining marinade. Reduce temperature down to 350 degrees F and bake additional 8-10 minutes for medium/medium rare or internal temperature of 135-145 degrees F. Let meat rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

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Venison Sliders

Makes 20-24 sliders 

 Panade Mixture:
1 slice of white bread, torn to pieces
1/4 cup buttermilk, half and half, or heavy cream
2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 TB grated onion
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pound ground venison
Olive oil for frying
2 Dozen Silver dollar rolls purchased or homemade (I used Margaret's Challah recipe, halve the recipe and the sugar)

Garnishes:
Lettuce
Tomato Slices
Sliced cheese squares to fit the burgers
Caramelized onion
Bacon
Sautéed Mushroom slices or any toppings of your choice

1. In a large bowl, make panade by combining pieces of white bread and dairy together, making into a paste. Add garlic, onion, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, pepper and salt. Using your hand, combine ground venison and panade mixture well.

 2. Form mini-patties about 1 1/2 inch in diameter. Heat largest frying pan to medium-high until smoking point. Put a tablespoon of olive oil, swirl the oil to coat, and put venison slider patties to sear, forming a dark crust on both sides. Put seared sliders on a sheet pan. Finish searing the remaining sliders. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the patties to cook later or freeze.

 3. If serving right away, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 7-8 minutes until cooked through.

 4. Assemble sliders on buns and serve with your favorite garnish.