Grilled Venison Bites (Deer Balls) (Cajun)

Submitted by Pokey in San Antonio

"When you serve these up, the joke is; you have to kill a lot of deer to get this many ;o). Of course, they aren't really deer family jewels--they are actually bite size pieces of deer back strap or tenderloin. I got this recipe from a Cajun gentleman I hunt with in Haughton LA named Claude. I "guarunteeee", even people who say they don't like venison will eat a plate full of these. I prefer to use Tony Cachere's Cajun seasoning, thin cut bacon, zesty Italian dressing, and cook them over mesquite, but any wood or charcoal will do. Enjoy!"

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 4
• Yields: 20 balls
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1 lb venison
• 1 lb bacon
• 16 ounces Italian dressing
• 1 -2 tablespoon Tony Chachere's Seasoning

directions

1. Cut venison into bite size bits.
2. Cut bacon into 3-4 inch pieces. You may even want to cut the bacon strips in half, length-wise first, depending on the width of the bacon.
3. Wrap each chunk of meat with a piece of bacon, using a tooth pick to hold in place.
4. Place wrapped venison in a plastic bag and cover with dressing. Marinate over night.
5. Place marinated deer balls on plate and sprinkle with seasoning.
6. Grill until bacon is crisp, turning often. I found the easiest way is to use a fish basket, that way you can turn them all over at once. Another way is to use a skewer. No mater what method you use, watch for flare ups, since the oil in the Italian dressing will cause quite a blaze if you don't keep an eye on it. I walked away one time to get a beer and when I came back my balls were burnt to a crisp.

Reviews

[carrie g in south e]

I thought these were delish. I was really afraid to cook deer meat because I had never done it before but these balls were the best i ever put in my mouth.

 

[gammy in tx]

Since my husband and I love to use Tony's on our meats (and everything else) and we also marinate a lot with the italian dressing, I knew we were likely to like this. It turned out great. I made these the night before Easter on my menu #15692 menu (as kabobs). They were very colorful but best of all EVERYONE loved them. We will make these again and again.

 

[swampmule58]

Tried some of these yesterday with grilled pork chops. They were banging as my daughter said. Had pork chops left lol. Going to do some more for thanksgiving. Can't hardly wait. I give them 5+ stars. Only because you not suppose to give anything 25. Thanks for sharing

 

[Stefanie828]

I've never cooked Venison before so I did the best I could. I used a regular pan and I over-cooked the Venison by accident because the bacon wasn't even close to done. Still a wonderful flavor though. Next time, I think I will fry up the bacon first, throw the seasoned meat in the bacon grease, and THEN wrap up the meat after everything is cooked. Fool proof :)

 

[MuddyMommaPottery]

made these for our 4th of july cookout and they were the hit of the table! due to the number of these i was making i used deer steaks instead of backstrap and marinated the steaks for 2 days as the cookout got postponed. i also didn't wrap them in bacon till that morning. didn't have the seasoning called for so i used some sweet mesquite rub i love and grilled them over gas (gasp!) also used skewers instead of toothpicks. they were absolutely fantastic! in fact one guest who doesn't care all that much for venison feeds most of it to his dog. he said he may have to raid the dog's stash lol!