Chili-Rubbed Venison and Home-Smoked Cheese Soiree
By Cecil Cherry
I was going through our freezer after hunting season and realized there were older vacuum-sealed bags of prime cuts of venison–roasts and backstrap–that were buried under newer additions to the freezer, escaping the dinner table. We needed to make room for other items, so we invited folks over for a wild game soiree.
My wife and I like to entertain friends and family at our house for meals paired with a nice wine. For one recent get-together the main dish was chili-rubbed venison and home-smoked cheese. We knew chili-rubbed ribeye steak was fantastic, so it would probably be just as good or better with venison, which we paired with a Malbec. To bridge the cheese and meat, we also grilled a spicy, air-dried country sausage from Rich Square, North Carolina. For this particular party we had grapes, a variety of crackers, and mustards to accompany the cheese and venison. We also had bacon-wrapped quail to have along with a chilled glass of Chardonnay.
Most of these friends had never really experienced meat and fowl that was not store-bought and farm-raised. Despite being outside of their culinary comfort zones, the guests were astonished at venison’s succulence. The bite of the sausage along with the smokiness of the cheese was a gastronomic delight. The grapes and wine helped take the edge off any heat associated with spices, and was spectacular with the charcoal-cooked meats.
The party was a huge hit. By the end of the evening there were enough leftovers for everyone to take some home for more meals. We’ll be making these wild game get-togethers a tradition.
Recipe
Chili-Rubbed Venison
(Feeds 8-10)
Ingredients
- 1 venison roast (3 to 4 pounds) or three 6 to 8-inch whole pieces of backstrap
- Chili rub or powder
- Black pepper
- Salt
Directions
- Rub salt and pepper on the venison, then rub with chili powder. Heat charcoal grill to 500 degrees.
- Let the coals ash over for a good sear. Place the roast or backstrap directly over the coals. For the 3- to 4-pound cut of meat, I seared the top and bottom for 7-8 minutes per side for medium rare to medium.
- Place several pats of butter on top of the seared meat while it’s still hot. Tent the venison with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice the meat to the desired thickness and serve with the au jus made from the melting butter and juices from the resting meat.
Smoked Cheese
Ingredients
- Your choice of hard cheese. We used two cheddar cheeses and a gouda.
Directions
- It’s best to smoke cheese during cooler months, when the outside temperature is no more than 50 to 55 degrees, and timed a few months ahead of its intended consumption. I used a Weber Charcoal Summit Kamado smoker/grill.
- Heat four or five charcoal briquettes until they ash over. Add two or three more briquettes and two or three pieces of hickory chunks to the burning charcoal and close the dampers until the grill temperature stays under 90 degrees.
- Smoke the cheese for two hours. For a milder flavor, just pull off the smoker sooner.
- Remove cheese from the grill and place it in the refrigerator to cool for up to 48 hours. Wrap in parchment paper and vacuum seal the cheese.
- Return the sealed cheese to the refrigerator for a minimum of a month until the cheese has absorbed the smoke and it will begin to mellow. We left our cheese in the refrigerator for four months; it was a perfect smoky, cheesy flavor.
Cecil Cherry is a native North Carolinian who graduated from East Carolina University and retired as a law enforcement officer from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Cecil enjoys outdoor pursuits, traveling to North Carolina wineries with his wife, Pam, and sharing the bounty of field to plate with friends and family.
