Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Venison Backstrap

04 Feb, 2025

As an avid outdoorsman, wild game is my favorite thing to cook. It is very rewarding to harvest animals and then fully utilize that meat in delicious creations. Wild game has many benefits; it is leaner, has fewer calories, contains a lot of essential nutrients and vitamins as compared to grass feed beef.

In this recipe I am choosing to utilize one of the most popular cuts, the backstrap. I often cut them into steaks to grill and also love chicken frying them. However, in this recipe we are going to add some delicious cream cheese and bacon to make something that is one of my favorite bites of all time. We are going to stuff the backstrap with whipped cream cheese and wrap it up in bacon. The bacon will add flavor, but will also help keep the lean venison moist during the cooking process.

If you don't hunt, but want to try venison - https://mauinuivenison.com/

Be sure to watch the how-to video also as I talk about this venison coming from a big West Texas buck that I harvested in January of 2025 on a very special hunt with my youngest son Sam. Needless to say, that is hunt I will never forgot.....

How to video for this recipe: https://youtu.be/x9SlJCnuaSc

Ingredients:

1 venison backstrap
1 package of bacon
4 oz whipped cream cheese (we prefer jalapeño cream cheese)
Meat Church Holy Cow BBQ Rub
Meat Church Hickory BBQ Rub

Optional Glaze

Big Wick's Mesquite Smoked Jalapeño Glaze

Prepare your smoker
Prepare your smoker at a temperature of 325. In this video we used a Traeger Woodridge with Meat Church pellets (oak\hickory), but mesquite, hickory or pecan would also be a good choice.

Prepare the backstrap
Using a sharp boning or filet knife, remove all silverskin from the venison. This is very important as not removing it will give the meat a gamey taste.

Stand the backstrap on its edge and slice a pocket to hold the cream cheese being careful not to slice all the way through.

Fill the pocket with cream cheese. Do not overfill it as you need to be able to close it up.

Season the backstrap all over with Meat Church Holy Cow. Set aside.

Prepare the bacon weave
Lay 6 pieces of bacon next to each other on parchment paper. Adjust the number of slices to the the length of your backstrap. You want just enough excess to be able to close the end.

Lay 6 more pieces across the opposite direction.

Lift up every other piece, weaving the the bacon until you have completed this for every piece.

Season the top of the bacon lightly with Meat Church Hickory.

Wrap the backstrap in the bacon weave
Place the stuffed backstrap on one edge of the bacon weave.

Roll the backstrap tightly like a burrito.

Pin the excess bacon hanging of the end with toothpicks.

Season the outside of the bacon with more Meat Church Hickory AP.

Cook the backstrap
Place the bacon wrapped backstrap in the smoker on a plank, butcher or parchment paper. Those make it easier to handle without messing up the bacon weave.

Pro Tip: My preferred doneness is medium rare which is 130 - 135. With wild game you want to pull it a little early, and there is very little fat and can easily dry out. Therefore I will pull it by 125 and it will carryover cook a few more degrees.

When the backstrap reaches 120, apply any glaze that you are using. I love Big Wick's Mesquite Smoked Jalapeño glaze. It gives a delicious flavor and beautiful appearance.

If you desire medium rare doneness - Cook for 5 more degrees and pull by 125.

If you desire medium doneness - Continue to cook to 130 - 135 internal.

Remove from the smoker and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. The venison will continue to carryover cook. As you can see the venison I pulled at 125 ultimately. hit 129 after it rested.