We are a big venison household. I grew up in a hunting family, and some how I met someone who was also a hunter!! (I didn’t think that I would find that when I moved from my small Upper Peninsula of Michigan home town to down state MI!) Last Fall was the first year that Mike had tried hunting here in MN, previously he had always hunted in Michigan with his Dad at their cabin. Here we have state land that he can hunt on just five minutes from our house!! But it is a lot different than hunting at his cabin! We are lucky though to have land so close, however last year he was unlucky…but there is always this Fall!! Thankfully, (maybe odd to others) my mom had called the DNR when she found one of her backyard dear had been hit by a car on the highway near her house….they let her take it and it became known as Bucky!! (weird I know!) She was gracious enough to give us some of “Bucky’s” meat this past fall to supplement the venison meat we didn’t get. I was saving these tenderloin pieces because in my mind they are one of the best cuts off the deer! So I thought to cook them up right and wrap them in BACON, of course!! (This recipe could easily be done with beef tenderloin too!) This recipe is kind of like having a fancy restaurant dish at home! Make it a Date Night!!

Bacon Wrapped Venison Tenderloins

Time: Prep – 15-25 min; Cook 10-20 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 5-6 Venison (or Beef) Tenderloin cuts/medallions, or 1 – 1.5 lb whole tenderloin, cut into medallions
• 5-6 Large Slices of Bacon
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• Salt & Pepper
• Toothpicks, that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes (optional)

Preheat Broiler. First salt & pepper the tenderloins on each side. Wrap each tenderloin with one slice of bacon, overlapping the ends (I like to wrap the bacon all around the tenderloin, but you can wrap it like a wheel around the tenderloin medallion if you would like). At this point you can secure the bacon to the tenderloin with a toothpick. Heat butter in an oven safe pan. (I always like to start off with a little fat in the pan to keep things from sticking). Place each wrapped medallion in the heated pan and sear each side for 4-5 minutes until each side is browned and crispy. I like to finish this dish in a preheat oven on the broiler setting. This will keep the bacon crispy, but allow the tenderloin medallions to finish cooking through to your desired downess. I leave them under the broiler for about another 4-5 minutes. This will leave the meat slightly pink in the middle.

Serve 1-2 medallions with at sautéed veggie per plate! Enjoy!

*Note: If you are using Beef Tenderloin medallions, your cook time may increase by 2-3 minutes per side, and and extra 3-5 minutes in the broiler. This is because Beef tenderloin medallions often are cut much thicker than my venison medallions were cut, and the beef is a fattier cut of meat. The venison will cook very fast!

Make sure to check out these sites too:

Real Food Whole Health: Fresh Bites Friday

The Food Renegade: Fight Back Friday

The Primal Toad: Primal Cave #13