Venison Grillades and Grits on the Drum

Deer season is coming to an end and I am lucky enough to have venison in the freezer again this year!  Very happy about that. :)

I'm also thrilled to have received fresh grits from cooking friend Mike's family mill.  Amherst Milling Company in Amherst Va. Thank you again Mike... These grits are amazing!

I sliced up a bit of venison backstrap and some pieces of a small roast...

Seasoned the meat with PookieG Dayum dry rub.... has a nice little kick!

dusted with flour and gave them a quick browning in bacon drippings..

removed the venison and sauteed green onions, garlic and peppers in the drippings...

added flour and seasonings to make a roux...

also tomatoes and stock...

returned the venison to the pot and placed it into the drum to catch some smoke and simmer til tender.

made cheesy grits by adding cream and shredded american cheese to the mix...

the tender venison grillades...

they were SO tender...

the venison grillades with warm cheesy grits...

One of my favorite comfort meals!

Hope everyone had a successful season. :)

Stuffed Turkey Breast on the Grill

Just in time for Thanksgiving! If you don't feel like cooking a whole turkey, boneless breasts are a nice alternative.
The kind folks at Char-Broil requested a camp style turkey breast recipe so I opted to use the little table top Grill to Go for the job. It worked great!
You could use a grill at home with indirect heat.

I wanted a skin-on boneless breast so I de-boned the meat myself...it's a fairly simple process.

I cut the skin down the center...leaving it attached to the meat...

then filet the meat from each side of the breast, using a sharp knife..

I pound and stuff the turkey breast.... then tie to secure...

If you get the time, please check out my post on the Char-Broil site.  The full recipe for the sage stuffing is there too.  Thanks! 

Charbroil Post

It's a handy way to have grilled turkey when you don't want to cook a big bird.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

A Reverse Seared Tri Tip

I don't cook tri tips often, they aren't always available in my area, but my favorite way to "fix" one is to do a reverse sear on it. Smoke the tri tip for awhile before giving it a good high heat sear.
The Hasty Bake works great for this!

I drizzled the meat with olive oil then seasoned with a blend of Big Poppa's Secret Steak rub and some Afrika dry rub.

Onto the top shelf of the Hasty Bake with the hot coal rack lowered to the "smoke" setting.

I let the tri tip hang out on the top shelf, catching smoke for about 45 minutes...I keep an eye on it so it does not over cook.

Then I raise the hot coal rack to the highest position and place the meat on the lower cooking grate to get a good sear. Also added a few green onions (drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with coarse salt and cracked black pepper)

I love grilled onions...had to try a few, hot off the grill. I could eat them like popcorn. :)

I was shooting for medium rare so I pulled the meat off the heat at an internal temp of 135F.

Let the tri tip rest for about 20 minutes while I made a salad...

I don't cook these often enough. They come out really moist and tender if you cut them against the grain.  The addition of a quick smoke really adds a lot of flavor to the meat too. Just love em!

Deer season is going on here. It's been hard to find computer time but I hope to post more soon.
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Venison and Spaetzle (Thank you Rolf!)

Talented friend Rolf in Germany sent this awesome spaetzle maker to me awhile back. I have not gotten around to posting pics until now.

Thanks so much Rolf, I love it!!

I have made spaetzle in the past using a colander but this was WAY easier. :)

My batter, eggs, flour, salt and milk...

I made this batch a little thin. Should have added more flour  I think.

Spread the batter across the spaetzle maker into boiling hot water...

I let them rise to the top and simmer for a few minutes til cooked through.

I usually serve these as is with butter but wanted to try the fried version.
I cooked bacon til crisp, added butter, onion and garlic...

then fried the spaetzle until light brown and a little crisp...

I thawed a package of venison which I thought was backstrap, turned out to be 4 tenderloins...

Trimmed them up and let them marinade for awhile in olive oil, garlic and cracked black pepper..

made a batch of biscuits...

Put the skillet of biscuits in the cooker first. I let them brown on one side, turn them over and move them off the coals to finish rising and cooking..

The tenderloins grill fast... about 10 to 15 minutes...

That's about it!
Venison tenderloin, skillet biscuits and fried spaetzle...

Loved the spaetzle!!

and the venison tasted pretty good too. :)

Not sure if you will ever see this Rolf but thank you so much! The spaetzle maker made the job so much easier than how I had been doing it. I will practice with it and try to get them more uniform. lol
They were delicious!