This bacon wrapped venison loin is seriously one of the best meals of my life!! The credit goes to the chef that published this venison recipe. It came from my husband’s recent edition of Outdoor Life magazine. Chef Walter Bundy from the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond Virginia submitted this culinary masterpiece. It’s really amazing!
My husband is a hunter and harvested the venison that graced our plates this evening. I was happy to find another amazing venison recipe. I am not very experienced at preparing wild game, but I am determined to make the most of our organic, free range meal. Venison is so healthy and lean. I want to master the art of preparing it and love every bite. So here you have it, Applewood Bacon-Wrapped Venison Loin. Enjoy!!
Applewood Bacon-Wrapped Venison Loin with Raspberry Preserves
(Serves 8)
1 venison loin (back strap), all silver skin removed
1 cup of whole milk
3 to 4 garlic cloves, crushed
A small handful of black peppercorns
1 bunch of fresh rosemary, picked off the stem and chopped
An 8-ounce jar of raspberry preserves
1 cup of water
1/4 stick of unsalted butter
1 package of applewood-smoked bacon, sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Remove silver skin on venison loin. Cut the venison loin in half and soak it overnight in a refrigerator with whole milk, garlic cloves, black peppercorns and rosemary.
Set the mixture aside and keep it warm. Drain the milk from the venison, discard all other ingredients and pat the venison dry with paper towels. Lay out the bacon strips on a cutting board, slightly overlapping each piece (forming two large bacon sheets). Place a loin on the bacon and gently roll the whole piece, covering it in a sheet of bacon. Repeat the process with the other half of the loin. Season the bacon-wrapped loins with salt and pepper.
Place a large cast-iron skillet, seasoned with vegetable oil (I used canola), on a stove over medium-high heat. Place the loin halves in the hot skillet, seam side down. Sear them for 4 to 5 minutes, until the bacon becomes crispy. Turn over and sear the other side for same amount of time. With a pair of tongs, continue to turn the venison to sear all sides, so the bacon is crispy on all sides. Cook the meat to medium-rare.
Pull the loin halves out of the skillet and let them rest for 2 minutes. Gently slice them into medallions and fan them across a plate. Drizzle them with raspberry sauce.
We had steamed, fresh broccoli and roasted lemon-garlic fingerling potatoes as our side dishes and coconut pie for dessert.
Delicious!!!
Venison Loin Recipe:
- 1 venison loin back strap
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves crushed
- small handful of black peppercorns
- 1 bunch fresh rosemary picked off the stem and chopped
- 8 ounces raspberry preserves
- 1 cup water
- 2 ounces unsalted butter
- 16 ounces applewood-smoked bacon sliced
- Kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- Remove silver skin from venison loin. Cut venison loin in half and place into a container with whole milk, garlic cloves, black peppercorns and rosemary. Cover container and refrigerate overnight.
- To prepare the raspberry sauce, combine raspberry preserves and water in a small saucepan and place it over medium-high heat. Swirl in the butter and cook until it’s slightly thickened and reduced, about 5 minutes. Turn heat off and cover pan to keep sauce warm.
- Drain milk from venison, pat venison dry with paper toweling and discard all other ingredients.
- Lay out bacon strips on a cutting board, slightly overlapping each piece (forming two large bacon sheets). Place one half of venison on one of the bacon sheets and gently roll it, covering venison in bacon. Repeat the process with the other half of the loin. Season the bacon-wrapped loins with salt and pepper.
- Place a large cast-iron skillet seasoned with oil on a stove top over medium-high heat. Place the loin halves in the hot skillet, seam side down. Sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until the bacon becomes crispy. Turn over and sear the other side for same amount of time. With a pair of tongs, continue to turn the venison to sear all sides, so the bacon is crispy on all sides. Cook the meat to medium-rare.
- Remove venison from pan and allow to rest on a cutting board for 2-3 minutes, then slice venison into medallions and transfer to serving platter. Drizzle raspberry sauce over venison before serving.
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