Bacon Wrapped Venison Poppers with Homemade Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

After spending the previous eight days of the Missouri firearms season passing on does and smaller bucks, I entered the last day of the season with a different mindset. Instead of holding out for a mature buck, I now had my heart set on a two to three-year-old doe that would make for some great-tasting venison.

On the last day of my hunt, I sat for two hours in a small Ameristep ground blind overlooking a small overgrown food plot. Finally, at 9:00 a.m., with the sun coming up directly in front of me, I noticed the steam from an animal's breath ascending into the air due to the cold eighteen-degree temperature. Moments later, a three-year-old doe strolled into the food plot for a mid-morning snack. Once she was in the open at a mere thirty-five yards, I made a successful shot that dropped her directly where she stood.

After giving a quick thank you prayer for my harvest, I grabbed my backpack and admired my prize for a moment before going to work with my Cold Steel Click N Cut, where I field-dressed my deer and then headed home.

Later that evening, when I processed my deer, I decided to save one backstrap and immediately cook one of my favorite recipes for fresh venison—bacon-wrapped venison poppers with a homemade honey mustard dipping sauce.

Poppers

Ingredients:

• 1 - Venison Backstrap (10-15 small pieces)
• 1 - Package Bacon
• 1 - Red Onion
• The Provider Droptine Rub/Seasoning
• Toothpicks

Venison Prep:

• Using a Cold Steel Kitchen Classics Knife, slice the backstrap into small 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" pieces.
• Place strips of bacon on a flat surface.
• Lay two pieces of venison and two pieces of onion on each strip of bacon, then wrap.
• After the venison is wrapped, place one to two toothpicks through the onion, venison, and bacon to help hold it together while cooking.

Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup mustard
• 1/4 cup local honey
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sauce Prep:

Add all dipping sauce ingredients to a small bowl, then mix thoroughly.

Cook:

Using a pellet or wood smoker, pre-heat the grill to 325 degrees. I prefer using my Traeger Grills Ironwood 885 smoker with pecan-flavored pellets. After the smoker reaches the desired temperature, lay the bacon-wrapped venison on the bottom rack and cook for approximately two hours or until the bacon is slightly crispy and the venison reaches a minimum internal temperature of 135 degrees.

Serve:

Place a small bowl of dipping sauce in the center of a large platter. Surround the bowl with bacon-wrapped venison poppers. Dip popper into the sauce and enjoy.