For most Americans the closest they come to fresh meat is in their local grocery store. The consumer gives little thought as to where the meat actually came from. More importantly the average American doesn’t appreciate the effort it took to ultimately get the meat ready for purchase in the store. Sadly, to lots of folks they simply believe their meat comes from the store. But outdoors people know better.
There are many fine restaurants around the country that specialize in serving wild game. Customers will usually pay premium prices for these fine meals. I have eaten at some of these specialty restaurants and have tested some mighty fine recipes. Yes, their chefs do a good job of it, but I would put some of our wild game up against theirs any day. There are countless wild game cookbooks and our family has more than we could possibly use. But we will read them and from time to time experiment with new dishes.
Years ago, I thought that we had found the best way to prepare venison back strap. For our family, it was always thinly cut, lightly battered and fried. Simple to do and hard to mess up.
Recently, I learned of a new way to cook back strap. Although it may sound very unusual, it is out of this world. Here is how to do it. Cut back straps a full 2” thick and place them in your favorite marinade, I use Cajun Injector Garlic Creole. Usually it takes hours to marinade thick cuts of meat. But in a marinade canister by Tilia (manufacturer of the Foodsaver www.foodsaver.com), it only takes 20 minutes.
Remove marinated meat and drain excess liquid from the meat. Wrap cut of meat with bacon. Then sprinkle the upper side with garlic salt. Next, take pulverized freeze-dried instant coffee crystals and lightly dust the salted side. Allow to sit for 20 minutes or until the coffee turns like chocolate syrup. Then turn meat over and do the same on the other side.
Cook over a medium fire for six minutes per side for medium rare, longer for medium or well done. I know this sounds odd, but it will be an unbelievable piece of meat. The garlic salt draws out the blood and the coffee causes it to form a coating that will help the meat retain its moisture.
With this recipe we have come up with a new family favorite. Just another way to enjoy a successful hunt. By the way, I am far from being considered a good cook. Just ask my wife. But with this recipe, it is hard to do it wrong.