One of the great things about marrying into a family that hunts is the pretty much constant supply of free, nutritious meat — especially venison.  Of course, this can also present a challenge: how to use up all of the venison from last year, plus surplus from my father-in-law?  Deer season is almost upon us here in Alabama, and we still have a good stock of venison burger, sausage, and steak.  We’ve managed to use quite a bit of the burger in hamburgers, hamburger helper, spaghetti, and the like, and venison sausage is delicious on Saturday mornings.  The steaks, however, are a bit harder to get through.  Venison has so little fat in the meat that it’s a challenge not to overcook it.  I’ve tried adding using the steaks in stir-fries and slow-cooker recipes, but have never found a dish that I like more than Dixie Creek Roll-Ups, one of my husband’s specialties.

These roll-ups are similar to chicken cordon bleu, except without the chicken, ham, or swiss cheese.  (Ok, so maybe not so much like chicken cordon bleu after all.)  They’re super easy to prepare, and are simply my favorite way to cook venison:

Dixie Creek Roll-Ups:
1-2 lbs cubed venison steak (depending on how many roll-ups you want to make)
Bottle of marinade (we prefer Moore’s)
1 8oz package of pepperjack cheese
Green onion, cut into strips
1 lb bacon

1. Marinate defrosted steaks in the marinade of your choice for 1 hour. Discard marinade.
2. Place a chunk of cheese and a few strips of green onion at one of the long ends of a steak. You’ll want to be able to see the end of the cheese, but without it poking out the sides.
3. Roll up the steak, cheese, and green onion until tight.
4. Take a piece of bacon and wrap around the roll-up from end to end, covering as much of the outside of the roll-up as possible. Secure roll-up with several toothpicks.
5. Grill roll-ups until done (generally they are done when the cheese is melted).