Today’s guest blog from longtime BIG DEER blogger Matt “Flatlander” Cheever. Sounds amazing! 

Hey Mike: The weather is turning and it’s grilling season. Many of us have a freezer full of deer and fish that to be need thinned out before we start replenishing this fall. Here’s a great way with what I call “Outdoorsman’s Surf and Turf.” There is no finer dining than the loin of a nice whitetail deer and fillets from ice-fished bluegills.

grill deer 1

Stuffed Venison Filet Mignon:

From a back-strap/loin, cut 1½-inch-thick filets or cutlets; make a small incision in each cutlet that opens up the center up like a pocket.

Next, run roasted garlic, fresh mozzarella, sweet Italian peppers and artichoke hearts through a food processor until the mixture looks like a relish; stuff about a teaspoon inside each filet.

Next wrap each filet in bacon and marinate for 2-3 nights in a mixture of Coca Cola, olive oil, dried parsley, onion salt (or season salt) and black pepper.  (You can vacuum seal packets of these to take to turkey camp or on a fishing trip; they save well in an iced cooler for several days.)

When ready to grill, remove meat and discard marinade. Grill until medium rare.

Accompany the venison chops with your favorite pan-fish fillets rubbed down with olive oil, season salt, lemon pepper (or sweet ginger seasoning). Cover fillets with small slices of lemon and grill on foil tray. Portobello mushrooms brushed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and black pepper go nicely with these. Morel mushrooms sautéed in butter would be even better.

grill deer 2

This is dining at its finest. In a big-city steak and chop house, this surf and turf would easily cost you $50-60 dollars a plate. Enjoy at your BIG DEER camp, on a special evening with the family or maybe serve it for the folks that let you hunt or fish their lands.—Enjoy and God bless, “Flatlander”