Fire up. Prepare a pellet smoker or any other bbq grill for indirect cooking at 350°F (177°C). On a charcoal grill, place one half of a chimney full of pre-heated charcoal briquettes on one side of the grill’s charcoal grate in order to create direct and indirect cooking zones. Add your favorite wood to the hot coals for smoke flavor. In the pellet grill, I use a combination of pecan, oak, and cherry cooking pellets.
Prep. To prepare the stuffing, cook 6 slices of the bacon over medium heat, then drain on paper towels. Crumble when cool (you should have about 1/4 cup (29g)). Save 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings in the pan.
Chop the onions, mushrooms and parsley. Then sauté the onions and mushrooms in the bacon drippings over medium heat. Stir them into the cream cheese, and fold in the crumbled bacon and parsley.
Trim excess silver skin from venison backstraps and cut a slit down the length to butterfly it open. Be careful not to cut through the entire piece.
Season with the AP rub and stuff with the cream cheese mixture.
Lay the bacon strips next to each other, then put the backstraps crosswise over the strips. Wrap the backstraps in bacon, place seam side down on a wire rack, and season with the BBQ Rub.
Cook. Set the rack on the smoker, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 130°F (54°C) or your desired doneness, about 30 minutes. The bacon should be brown on the outside.
Serve. Cut crosswise into individual pieces for serving.
