Cajun Surf and Turf… aka Crawfish Stuffed Venison Backstrap

I first discovered this wonderful blend of flavors a few years back.  The first dish 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, “These would be really good paired with some backstrap.”  The seed had been planted.  Ever since that day, I reserved this recipe for special occasions.  It’s easy to prepare, 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. 

I used Guidry’s creole seasoning. This Creole seasoning mix is made from a range of fresh, natural ingredients, including yellow onion, bell pepper, celery, green onion, parsley and garlic. You can substitute your own mix of these vegetables if you cannot find Guidry’s in your local market.

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Ingredients:

½ length of backstrap (the large end)

2 Tbs butter

¼ cup Guidry’s mix

½ lb Louisiana crawfish tails (peeled and cooked)

½ cup plain bread crumbs

¼ cup water

Seasoning to taste

Preparation:

1. Bring a cast iron pan to medium heat.
2. Add butter to the pan
3. Add the Guidry’s mix
4. Sauté your onions and bell peppers in butter until softened.
5. Then add your crawfish tails to warm through. 
6. Add plain bread crumbs and enough water to get the consistency of thick oatmeal. 
7. Season your stuffing according to your specific taste. 
8. Allow 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.
9. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
10. 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. 
11. Season the meat really well. 
12. Spray a disposable meatloaf tin with non-stick spray or rub with oil. 
13. Place the backstrap into the tin.
14. Fill the pocket with the stuffing 
15. Place your dish into a pre heated 350 degrees oven. 
16. 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.

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