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Daniel Arms’ Top Venison Backstrap Recipe

by Daniel Arms

With Oklahoma deer season winding down, veteran homesteader Daniel Arms is turning his attention to something else: enjoying the fruits of his hunting labors! With a freezer full of freshly harvested meat at his disposal, Arms is breaking out his Pit Boss pellet grill to show you how he goes about preparing and cooking his favorite venison backstrap recipe. 

Aside from store-bought potatoes, the Arms Family Homestead host’s grilled backstrap venison will be also be accompanied by salad greens, carrots, and onions picked from his high tunnel greenhouse.

If you’re a venison fan, you’ve got to have this venison backstrap recipe on deck. You can share this with your friends and family at your next backyard party. You’ll be the talk of your friends once you’ve made this dish for them.

What Is Venison Backstrap?

So, what exactly is backstrap in this venison backstrap recipe?

If you’re a hunter, I’m sure you already know. But, for those of you out there that don’t yet have experience with venison, we’ve got a brief for you.

Backstraps are the two longest cuts of meat on the deer. They’re the muscles that run along the deer’s spine and lays across the tops of the ribs. Because of where the backstrap is located, it’s a tender muscle that’s not often used by the deer. It’s often mistaken for the tenderloin because it’s so tender, but tenderloins are far smaller and from a different part of the deer.

Grilled Venison Backstrap, Steamed Vegetables and Field Salad
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Grilled Venison Backstrap, Steamed Vegetables and Field Salad

When Daniel Arms isn’t harvesting deer, he’s thinking about the myriad ways he can prepare them. With a freezer full of meat to show for his fall and winter efforts, the Arms Family Homestead host is throwing a couple of backstraps on his pellet grill to set the table for one of his best venison recipes.

Servings

4

servings
Total time

1

hour 

Backstrap Cooking Ingredients

  • Lawry’s Steak & Chop with Garlic and Cracked Pepper Marinade

  • Steak and burger seasoning of your choice

  • FOIL PACKET POTATOES & CARROTS COOKING DIRECTIONS

  • Place small baby potatoes, ½ chopped yellow onion, and baby carrots in a foil packet with extra virgin olive oil and seasonings of your choice. Steam cook in the middle of the grill (where there’s the most heat) until cooked to your desire.

  • FIELD SALAD PREPARATION DIRECTIONS

  • Serve backstrap and steamed veggies with greenhouse salad consisting of romaine hearts, kale, and spinach topped with your favorite dressing.

Directions

  • Marinade backstrap in Lawry’s Steak & Chop with Garlic and Cracked Pepper Marinade (or marinade of your choice) in a Ziploc bag for minimum of 3 hours.
  • Remove backstrap from marinade and apply steak and burger seasoning of your preference.
  • Cook backstrap “low and slow” over indirect grill heat for 1-1 ½ hours at 250 degrees, then flip and cook another 1 hour.

Recipe Video

Now that you’re armed with this delicious venison backstrap recipe, you’re ready to go out and cook for your friends and family. You could even try pairing this with some delicious Smoked Creamed Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes for a full meal.

More Wild Game Recipes:

How to Cook Wood Duck: With David Bancroft

by David Bancroft

Award-winning chef, restaurateur, and Prime Cuts host David Bancroft is known for reimagining, and redefining, wild-game cooking. When the Iron Chef Showdown contestant is out of the kitchen, however, he’s also known to be deep in the woods hunting up another field-to-table-inspired creation. And, his latest one—this ancho chili honey seared wood duck recipe with a sweet potato hash side—is absolutely to die for. 

Bancroft and his son Walker harvested the protein for this dish at the family’s Union Springs, Alabama hunting camp south of Auburn. “Wood ducks are small birds, and a special species,” Bancroft notes. “It was like shooting dive-bombing birds!”

How to Clean Your Wood Duck

Cleaning a duck isn’t a simple thing, but if you’re a hunter, chances are you’re familiar with the process and can get right into this wood duck recipe. But, if you’re not, we’ll break it down a little bit here.

The first thing you want to do is let your duck rest in a cool place for 12 to 24 hours. This makes it easier to skin or pluck your bird.

After your bird rests you can either pluck or skin, depending on your preference.

Next, you’ll want to gut the duck. This is a multi-step process that involves getting your hands inside the bird and removing the innards. There are some great guides out there on how best to do that effectively.

How to Cook Your Wood Duck

How you cook your wood duck is entirely up to you. However, our favorite way is seared on a cast iron like David Bancroft does it in this wood duck recipe.

This wood duck recipe also pairs well with these sides:

David Bancroft’s Top Seared Wood Duck Recipe
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David Bancroft’s Top Seared Wood Duck Recipe

Here’s the Iron Chef Showdown runner-up’s latest creation: ancho chili honey seared wood duck and sweet potato hash.

Servings

4

servings

ANCHO CHILE HONEY SEARED WOOD DUCK Ingredients

  • 6-8 Wood duck breasts

  • DUCK SPICE RUB

  • 1 tbsp Fine kosher salt

  • 1 tsp Garlic powder

  • 1 tsp Smoked paprika

  • 1/4 tsp Cinnamon

  • 1/4 tsp Cumin

  • 1/4 tsp Sugar

  • Rub is good on all birds, backstraps, lamb or pork chops.

  • Add 1/4 tsp cayenne to create a spicy rub.

  • ANCHO CHILE HONEY SAUCE

  • 1 1/2 cups Honey

  • 1/2 cup Sugar

  • 5 Garlic cloves (minced)

  • 1 tbsp Fine kosher salt

  • 1 1/2 tbsp Pepper

  • 1 cup Water

  • 1 tbsp Ancho chile flakes or 1 ancho chili

  • 3 tbsp Sherry vinegar

  • SWEET POTATO HASH

  • 2 Large sweet potatoes (1/4-inch diced)

  • 1 Red onion (diced)

  • 1 Red bell pepper (diced)

  • 1/2 tbsp Rosemary (chopped)

  • 2 tsp Duck rub

  • 1/2 tsp Salt

  • 2 tbsp Olive oil

  • Add a dash of cayenne (for spice)

SWEET POTATO HASH DIRECTIONS

  • Toss all ingredients listed above to season evenly.
  • Place in Pyrex dish and bake in 350° oven until tender or about 15-18 minutes. 
  • Plate alongside seared wood duck.
  • SEARED WOOD DUCK DIRECTIONS
  • Mix the rub spices listed above. 
  • Season each breast evenly with slice rub. 
  • Heat large cast-iron skillet to medium/high heat. 
  • Drizzle a little grape seed or peanut oil in skillet and lay breasts skin-side down.
  • Press each breast down flat with spatula to ensure skin sears evenly.
  • Cook 2-3 minutes (or until crispy), then flip each breast and cook on flesh side for 2 minutes.
  • Remove breasts from skillet and allow to rest before slicing. 
  • Blend all ancho chile honey sauce ingredients listed above until smooth.
  • Place contents in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. 
  • Once at a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the sauce slightly thickens and coats the back of a spoon. 
  • Spoon or drizzle the sauce on the duck. Enjoy!

More Wild Game Recipes:

David Bancroft’s Smoked Venison Jerky Recipe

by David Bancroft

Jerky is hundreds of years old. From indigenous people to cowboys to soldiers to now, jerky has been beloved over the years. It’s a salty and hardy snack that lasts for quite some time. The best kind of jerky? Smoked venison jerky. It’s a little leaner, but just as tasty and David Bancroft knows just how to prep it.

When David Bancroft’s not steering the ship at his famed Acre and Bow & Arrow Barbecue restaurants, the Iron Chef Showdown winner loves enjoying backyard life with his wife, kids and dogs. But, the James Beard semifinalist always manages to find time for a date with largemouth bass or whitetail bucks (just a few of the many species he loves catching or harvesting). And, every deer season, Bancroft makes it a point to craft as many batches of smoked venison jerky as he can. Here’s his tried-and-true recipe!

Smoked Venison Jerky Tips and Tricks

  1. Refrigerating the meat helps you to better slice the meat, especially given that you have to cut against the grain.
  2. Using a drip pan in your smoker can help minimize the messes you have to clean afterwards.
  3. If you’re unsure if your smoked venison jerky has been smoking for long enough, you can determine based on the bend. It should bend, but should not snap cleanly through.
  4. It can be helpful to place a shallow pan of water in the back of your smoker in order to keep the jerky from becoming overly dry.
  5. The type of wood you use makes a difference! Be sure to consider what sorts of pellets or logs you’re using and how they may pair with or effect your seasonings.
David Bancroft's Smoked Venison Jerky Recipe
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David Bancroft’s Smoked Venison Jerky Recipe

Servings

4-6

servings
Total time

1

hour 

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. 1/4 inch sliced venison

  • JERKY CURE

  • 1 cup Coca-Cola

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 tbsp. black pepper

  • 1 tsp. kosher salt

  • 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder

  • 1/2 tsp. chili powder

  • 1 tsp. ground red pepper

Directions

  • Mix all the ingredients for the cure together. 
  • Place jerky cure and sliced venison in a covered bowl or Ziploc bag and refrigerate overnight.   
  • Next day, remove racks from inside smoker. Then, remove venison from cure and organize them on the racks. 
  • Heat smoker to 130°F, and avoid temperatures higher than 150° throughout the drying process.
  • Place smoker racks back inside the smoker and smoke on very low temperature for 4-6 hours, or until the dryness and texture meets your preference. (Bancroft notes that some vertical smokers may dry faster than offset smokers. And, as with most outdoorsman, your personal preference is always right!)

More Wild Game Recipes:

Prime Cuts: Sous Vide Wild-Turkey on the Grill

by David Bancroft

In a recent Prime Cuts Wild Game Edition episode, host and award-winning chef David Bancroft teamed up with Bone Collector star Michael Waddell to demonstrate two ways to prepare wild turkey. While Michael’s jalapeño-dill turkey nuggets (complete with “his and hers” dipping sauces) were a surefire crowd pleaser, David’s grilled, sous vide turkey breast was in a class of its own.

Why is Sous Vide Good for Turkey Breasts?

Sous vide cooking is the process of sealing food in an airtight container—usually a vacuum-sealed bag. It’s then cooked in temperature-controlled water. Professional chefs in nearly all of the best restaurants across the Americas and Europe use this technique. It maximizes the flavor and texture of their food preparations. Because of the prices of at-home sous vide, it hasn’t been easily available to the masses. Now, thanks to the advent of low-cost circulators, home cooks can explore the possibilities of this method, too.

The sous vide turkey breast cooking technique is especially useful for wild-game recipes because it cooks evenly all the way through. Meaning the meat is cooked to the same temperature from the edge to center. When using this method, you’ll notice that your wild game is significantly more juicy and flavorful. This is because the meat braises in its own juices, and is infused with the flavors seasoned in the bag.

In this recipe, David uses a sous vide cooker to poach a wild-turkey breast to 145 degrees before searing it on the grill. It’s a pretty interesting, and different, way to prepare your wild-turkey. The result is a perfectly cooked and juicy sous vide wild-turkey breast—prepared backyard style!

Pair your sous vide turkey with these sides:

Sous Vide Wild-Turkey
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Sous Vide Wild-Turkey

Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: easy

Award-winning chef and Prime Cuts Wild Game Edition host David Bancroft utilizes sous vide with a saltwater brine to pre-cook a wild-turkey breast before searing on the grill. 

Servings

0

servings
Total time

0

minutes

Sous VIDE Wild-Turkey Brine INGREDIENTS

  • Water and salt (even amount)

  • 4 Bay leaves

  • Cayenne pepper (dash)

Sous Vide wild-turkey COOKING directions

  • Brine turkey breast for 12 hours
  • Remove turkey from brine and place in a vacuum-sealed bag
  • Set sous vide to 145 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for two hours
  • Remove turkey from sous vide and bring to room temperature
  • Drizzle olive oil over the exterior of the poached turkey breast
  • Heat grill to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, then “grill mark” both sides of turkey (approximately two minutes on each side)
  • Cut and serve with dipping sauce

Recipe Video

Once your wild-turkey breast is grilled to perfection, try serving it with “his and hers” dipping sauces. Those sauces are featured in Michael Waddell’s jalapeno-dill turkey nuggets recipe, a can’t-miss delicious experience!

Prime Cuts: Joe Thomas’ Grilled Antelope Medallions Recipe

by Joe Thomas

Grilled Antelope Medallions recipe and video

In a recent Prime Cuts Wild Game Edition episode, award-winning chef and host David Bancroft joined veteran outdoorsman Joe Thomas as the North American Super Slam winner demonstrated how to prepare his grilled antelope medallions recipe.

Joe starts by butterflying tenderloins from an antelope he harvested with a bow as one of the 29 North American animal species needed to claim Super Slam status. He prefers butterflied tenderloins because, once separated, he’s left with two medallions that are perfectly sized for grilling.

Joe then mixes up a simple marinade consisting of olive oil, soy sauce, and Montreal Steak Seasoning into a Ziploc bag. Then, he marinates his antelope in it for no more than 24 hours. (He suggests turning the bag every 4-6 hours to ensure even coverage.)

Once his antelope steaks are ready to grill, Joe likes to heat his grill to a temperature of 450-500 degrees so it cooks fast. Usually the medallions are ready to come off the grill in 4-5 minutes, so be sure to turn them every 1-2 minutes.

While matching Joe Thomas’ hunting prowess might be a stretch, you can replicate his antelope medallions using the recipe below. 

Prime Cuts: Monterey Antelope Medallions from Joe Thomas
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Prime Cuts: Monterey Antelope Medallions from Joe Thomas


North American Super Slam winner Joe Thomas’ favorite hunt-camp meal: grilled antelope medallions.

Servings

4-6

servings
Total time

5

minutes

MONTEREY MARINADE Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp. Monterey steak seasoning

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce (mix of regular and low sodium)

  • FINGERLING ROASTED POTATOES COOKING DIRECTIONS

  • Salt

  • Pepper

  • Cook in olive oil, either in a pizza oven or on a stovetop (sprinkling in salt and pepper to taste in the process)

  • BLUE OYSTER MUSHROOMS COOKING DIRECTIONS

  • Cook in olive oil on a stovetop (sprinkling in salt and pepper to taste, then pouring beef stock gravy over the top in the process)

  • GRILLED ASPARAGUS COOKING DIRECTIONS

  • Place dry asparagus on grill, then cook until they reach your desired temperature/color preference

Directions

  • Cut approximately 2 pounds (4-6 servings) of antelope into ¾”-thick medallions that are 1 ½” x 2 ½” in average size
  • Place medallions into a Ziplock bag containing the above-mentioned marinade and allow to sit for 24 hours (turn/flip the bags a couple of times in the process)
  • Place marinated medallions on a 450- to 500-degree heated grill, and cook for 4-5 minutes (flipping them every 1-2) until most popular Medium temperature (grill/sear outside with pink inside) is reached
  • Don’t overcook

Recipe Video

For more game recipes, be sure to check out Prime Cuts: Wild Game Edition

Joe Thomas’ Moose Chili Recipe

by Joe Thomas

There’s a chill in the air and the leaves are starting to turn, which means it’s the perfect time to throw together a meal to warm you up during those late-night backyard bonfires. And what better way to get into the fall festivities than with a toasty bowl of chili? So, follow along in this Backyard Life cook as legendary outdoorsman Joe Thomas dishes out his mouthwatering moose chili recipe.

The History Behind Joe’s Moose Chili

Joe says that this recipe is a Thomas family fall favorite for both hunting camp and get-togethers, namely because it’s super easy to whip up and tastes even better. He credits his mother-in-law, Grandma Marlene, for the origin behind this great dish. “The only change I’ve made is she used beef and I like wild game, so I use moose meat,” Thomas says.

The meat used in this batch of chili came from a moose Thomas harvested in Newfoundland, Canada last season. But if you don’t have any moose meat of your own, don’t sweat! You can substitute it with any other wild game you have on hand (such as antelope, deer, and more). However, while subbing the meat is possible, Thomas says there’s nothing quite like moose to make this delicious chili recipe pop. It’s super lean with very little fat—just how he likes it.

Joe Thomas' Moose Chili Recipe
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Joe Thomas’ Moose Chili Recipe

Joe Thomas’ moose chili is a hearty wild-game meal to spice up hunting camp—or your next backyard get-together.

Servings

4

servings
Total time

2

hours 

30

minutes

Moose chili Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. Ground moose meat (browned and drained)

  • 4 cups Water

  • 1 can Tomato sauce

  • 1 can Spicy chili beans

  • 2 dashes Worchestershire sauce

  • 2 tsps. Salt

  • 2 Bay leaves

  • 2 tsp. Cumin

  • 2-4 tsp. Chili powder

  • 1/4 tsp. Allspice

  • 1-2 tsp. Cinnamon

moose chili cooking Directions

  • Place raw moose meat in a pot and cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain excess grease.
  • Combine all the ingredients in the pot with the browned moose meat and stir until thoroughly mixed.
  • Cover pot and let simmer on low heat for approximately 2 hours. Take the lid off for the last 20 to 30 minutes and stir occasionally to help thicken.
  • Place 2 large scoops of chili in a bowl, then garnish with fresh shredded cheese, a small scoop of sour cream, shredded or diced onions, and saltine crackers.

Now you’re ready to go for the colder seasons or your next backyard football party with this easy moose chili recipe. There are tons of recipes you could use with this, but our favorite to recommend is our Easy Snacks: Homemade Potato Chips. Crumble them up on top or use them to dip.

More Wild Game Recipes:

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