Whitetail deer season is well underway here in Southern Maryland. In September we had the privilege to harvest a doe which leads us in to this recipe. There are a lot of folks out there who say they don’t like deer for a multitude of reasons. I think the biggest factor is how it was cooked. Follow this recipe for some of the best tasting venison backstrap you’ll ever have.

Our butcher cuts our backstrap into about 10-12 inch pieces which is perfect for a small family. You can cook the whole back strap the same way, it may just take a while longer.

First thing you want to do is get any silver skin and fat off the meat. This is what will give it a gamey flavor. Once you’ve got it trimmed it’s time to season.

Starting with the back side, drizzle on some olive oil. Follow that with a medium application of the All Que’d Up Steak Shake. Next up is Killer Hogs Hot. Go light with this rub as we are mainly using it for color. To finish it off apply Killer Hogs Steak Rub. Flip the backstrap over and repeat this process on the top side. Let the backstrap hang out on the cutting board while you get the grill going.

We are cooking this recipe on our Gateway Drum but you can use any grill you like. We fired up our drum with Royal Oak Lump Charcoal and brought the temps up to 300*. Let it stabilize and add a chunk of hickory wood. Get your grate in place and it’s time to cook.

Place the backstrap directly on the grate. Put in a probe thermometer and set it for 124*. Put on the lid and let the cooker do the work. This is a quick cook so don’t go too far as you don’t want to overcook it!

Next we made up our compound butter. Roll it into a log and let it hang out in the fridge (or freezer if you need it to firm up faster) until we are done on the grill.

Once the meat hits 124* remove from the grill. Lay out a piece of foil and place 4 pats of butter down. Place the backstrap on the butter pats and put 4 more on top. Wrap it up and let it hang out for 20 minutes. The butter will melt and produce a great flavor (and dipping liquid). Once the rest is done, drizzle the melted butter over and dig in!
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Ingredients
1. Venison Backstrap
2. Olive Oil
3. All Que’d Up Steak Shake
4. Killer Hogs Hot Rub
5. Killer Hogs Steak Rub
6. 1 Stick Unsalted Butter
7. 2 tablespoons minced garlic
8. 1 teaspoon thyme
9. 1 teaspoon rosemary
10. Pinch of salt
11. Black pepper to taste

Directions
1. Remove and fat and silver skin from meat
2. Starting with the back drizzle with oil.
3. Season with Steak Shake, Hot Rub, and Steak Rub. Repeat on top
4. Place on a 300* grill on cook until 124* internal
5. Combine butter, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Roll into a log and set aside.
6. Once meat hits 124* remove from grill.
7. Place 4 pats of butter on foil and place meat on top. Add 4 more pats and rest 20 min.
8. Once rested remove from foil, drizzle with butter and enjoy!

For more recipes- https://sweetnsavorybbq.com/

For All Que’d Up Steak Shake- https://h2qshop.com/collections/barbe...

For Killer Hogs Hot Rub- https://h2qshop.com/collections/kille...

For Killer Hogs Steak Rub- https://h2qshop.com/collections/kille...

For Thermapen- https://www.thermoworks.com/Classic-T...

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