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[What this is: We yoinked Joe Pichey from MMMGoBluBBQ to share his tailgating recipes and Stubb's offered to sponsor it because their CEO is a big fan of this site, and certain tasty animals were absolutely harmed in the process of making this blog entry. Happy hunting season.]

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I'll be the first to admit that I am no hunter. While I would spend every waking minute on the water in search of that 10-pound walleye or 40-inch northern, I leave hunting to my old college roomies. They shoot it, and I cook it is our agreement. After a few failed attempts with venison in recent years (and I do mean FAILED with a capital F), I decided to take a cooking class put on by the parks and wildlife association. Money well spent!!! I can now hold my head high and say that venison backstrap no longer intimidate me. Thanks to my buddy Doug for providing the venison.

Ingredients:

    Venison backstrap (Trimmed of silver skin)
    Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper or Stubbs Steak Rub
    3 TBS chopped herbs. (Rosermary, Thyme & Oregano combo)
    3 TBS Olive Oil

Horseradish Cream Sauce (prepare day prior for best flavor)

    1/2 cup Creme Fraiche (or Mexican Crema)
    2 TBS Freshly grated or Prepared Horseradish
    2 TBS Freshly chopped Chives
    Juice and zest of 1 lemon

[After the jump: you're gonna need some time]

Instructions:

Mix your chopped herbs and olive oil and rub on your venison straps. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight if time allows. This is also a good time to mix your horseradish sauce ingredients and chill. The cream sauce flavors need some time to blend. When it's time to grill, set up for direct heat. We want a high heat on these to create some nice grill marks. I also added some wood chunks to the coals to add some smokey flavor.

I let these sit out for about 40 minutes to get near room temp. I am not sure if this is necessary, but I did it anyways. This is also what I do when cooking a nice steak, so I figured it couldn't hurt. Just before throwing on the grill, I sprinkled with some salt and pepper. These are going to cook quick, so don't go far. Make sure you have a cold one handy along with a good cigar.

I was looking for a good medium rare, so went to 130 degrees internally. This only took about 4 - 5 minutes per side with the high heat. The back strap and tenderloins are very lean will dry out very quickly if they are overcooked, so keep an eye on them. Just like a good steak, there are only 3 ways to cook these. Rare...Medium Rare...Ruined. Once they reach the 125 - 130 degree range, remove from the heat, tent with foil and let rest for 5 - 10 minutes. This is a very important step. This lets the juices redistribute and keeps things tender. If you cut into things now, you will have an entire cutting board covered with tasty back strap juices.

Now it's time to slice. Make sure you go against the grain to keep the tenderness. Cut into 1/2 inch medallions and enjoy as is or cover with some of the horsey cream sauce. It's fantastic either way.

These didn't last long. They were super tender and had a great flavor. I will definitely be doing these again if my old roomies decide the can spare more meat. I'm very interested to hear how you cook your venison and would love some new ideas. Send them to me at [email protected]. GO BLUE!