Cajun Surf & Turf: Crawfish Stuffed Venison Backstrap

I first discovered this wonderful blend of flavors a few
years back.  It was a combination of a
successful late season archery hunt on public land and the remainder of tails
from a crawfish boil for my birthday. 
After peeling several pounds of tails, I began to think…this would be
really good paired with some backtrap. 
The seed had been planted.  Ever
since that day, I reserve this recipe for special occasions.  It’s easy to do but just takes a bit of time
and patience to perfect.  You are sure to
impress your friends and family with this recipe.  It pairs well with both red wine or cold
beer. 

Saute your onions and bell peppers (I use Guidry’s mix) in
butter until softened.  Then add your
crawfish tails to warm though.  Next add
plain bread crumbs and enough water to get the consistency of thick oatmeal.  Season your stuffing according to your
specific taste.  You will need to let the
mixture cool long enough so that you can use your bare fingers to stuff the
backstrap.  You also don’t want to start
cooking the meat with hot stuffing.

You will need to make a pocket into the thick end of your
backstrap.  I like using a filet knife
for this work.  Make sure that you don’t
cut all the way through to the bottom of the backstrap.  Season the meat really well.  Spray a disposable meatloaf tin with
non-stick spray.  Place the backstrap
into the tin.  You will then begin to
fill the pocket with your stuffing. 

Place your dish into a pre heated 350 degree oven.  Bake uncovered for approximately 18 minutes
for a nice medium rare temperature.  This
will vary depending on the size of your backstrap and the amount of stuffing
that you use.  I suggest that you err on
the side of medium rare.  Enjoy.

½ length of backstrap (the large end)

2 Tbs butter

¼ cup Guidry’s mix

½ lb Louisiana crawfish tails

½ cup plain bread crumbs

¼ cup water

Seasoning to taste

Jason Thornton

@edible_outdoors_cook