YEP! It’s okay if you need to read that again! Since I run my own personal chef business, called Cookin’ Wild, I’ll admit my approach to wild game cooking can be a bit more on the gourmet side.
When I receive calls from Silicon Valley execs, or celebrities, wanting a wild game dinner, I’m challenged to create their vision of wild game. I pull out my culinary tweezers (yes, that’s right, tweezers), to carefully plate a micro pea green at 1 centimeter to the left of center, with 4 equally sized dots of port reduction from a squeeze bottle, leading to a carefully placed, perfect 1 centimeter cube of fondant yam, along side a single caramelized fennel leaf, a tablespoon of wild mushroom espuma (fancy word for “foam”) from my ISI Whipper on top of a 57.2ºC Sous Vide, 85 gram (that’s 3 ounces for all us Americans) venison medallion, which is placed at the end of a dusting of fennel pollen in the shape of a fork which I’ve created using a fork shaped stencil!! VOILE’! Whew! That made me tired.
Last winter, I had a high-end client ask for a bone-in elk loin chop that was no more than 2 ounces. He wanted a small “lollipop chop” (as chefs call them). I explained to him, that an elk chop would have to be a new born to be that small. And in his defense, I can understand becoming quite full by the time the main course rolls around, and 2 more courses to go in a 6 course dinner LOL! :}
But seriously, I LOVE WHAT I DO, and I enjoy my clients and they are some awesome people to work with.
In posting recipes on our site, HeHuntsSheCooks.com, More times than I can count, folks have said their biggest critique about cooking my recipes, are those of intimidation they feel. I know my approach to food is that of a chef’s prospective, but in our home, I REALLY DO MAKE COMFORT FOOD TOO!
So that being said, I’ve combined jalapeños, cheese, bbq sauce, bacon and a trip to the smoker to make, what I think is the ultimate in an iconic comfort food recipe!! : D
So here it is: I’ve created a meatloaf stuffed with jalapeño peppers, shredded cheese and wrapped the whole thing in bacon, and placed it on the smoker for just enough of that mesquite flavor, and topped with BBQ sauce!!
Enjoy!!
- 3 lb Ground Antelope (substitute any ground meat you like)
- 2 lbs. Bacon
- 2-3 Jalapeños, de-seeded and minced finely
- 3 Eggs, lightly beaten
- 5 Slices Sandwich Bread, torn into small pieces
- 1 medium onion, small diced
- 2 Tbs. Onion Powder
- 2 Tbs. Garlic Powder
- 1-8 ounce pkg. Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican
- 1 cup Prepared BBQ Sauce, *divided in 1/2 cup portions
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
- In a large mixing bowl, add the ground venison, minced jalapeño, beaten eggs, torn bread pieces, diced onion, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Mix until combined.
- Line a bread pan with saran wrap and divide the meatloaf in half.
- Place one half of the meatloaf in the bottom of the pan, press down lightly.
- Pour 1/2 cup BBQ sauce over top.
- Add the shredded cheese.
- Add the remaining half of the meatloaf and press down lightly, and set aside.
- From one and a half (about 16 slices) package of bacon, lay the bacon slices, horizontally close together on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil.
- From the other one and a half packages, take one piece of bacon, and weave it vertically, going over one slice and under the next piece of bacon to create a basket weave, stretching the bacon to reach the end of the slices of bacon.
- Continue until all the bacon creates a whole weave.
- Remove the meatloaf from the loaf pan by carefully turning it over and removing the saran wrap.
- Lay the meatloaf, top side down in the center of the bacon weave.
- Fold the bacon over the meatloaf, using a few toothpicks to secure it together.
- Carefully turn the whole meatloaf over and fold the foil up around it, but do not cover it (this is just to keep the drippings in the foil.
- Pre-heat the smoker, and add mesquite wood chips, to get some smoke developing.
- Place a drip pan under the grate and lay the foil and meatloaf directly on the smoke grate.
- Smoke for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, baste the meatloaf with remaining BBQ sauce. and continue to smoke another 15 minutes.
- Remove and serve.
