Ground Venison BBQ Bacon Pinwheels

With college football and hunting camps getting fired up across the country, now is the time for tasty snacks to shine. If you love the flavor combination of a good BBQ bacon cheeseburger, these simple pinwheels are perfect for your next camp lunch or football watch party.

These tasty venison and bacon pinwheels are perfect for game days, parties, and even as a main course. Images by author

I like to serve these as an appetizer, lunch, or even a main course. It starts with ground venison. You will need about a pound. Next, you will need about 6 strips of thick cut bacon. I went with pepper bacon for extra flavor. Those are the two main ingredients. Simple, huh?

For extra flavor, add your favorite beef or pork BBQ rub. There are no rules here, sweet or savory, your choice. You can even mix and match if you like for a custom flavor. Finally, you will need some BBQ sauce. I used Kinder Black Cherry Chipotle on these for a combination of sweet with a bit of heat, but again, choose your favorite. I rarely use the same one twice for this recipe and we make them pretty often.

All you need is bacon, ground venison, your favorite BBQ sauce, and a few seasonings.

You will also need some wooden skewers to hold the pinwheels together. Don’t try to use toothpicks because they won’t hold. You want a skewer that goes all the way through the pinwheel to hold it together as it grills.

Start with a slice of bacon. Stretch it out flat on your cutting board. Next, layer on some ground venison. You want about 2-3 ounces per strip of bacon. If you are serving these as a main course and want a thicker pinwheel, go with a little extra venison and put 4 ounces or so per strip of bacon. Press the venison over the bacon so that it fully covers it in an even thickness.

Cover the bacon with a thin layer of ground venison.

Next hit it with a dash of your favorite salt / pepper / garlic seasoning blend. Now for the fun part. Start at one end and roll the bacon and burger up together to form a wheel. Secure it by sliding the skewer through the tag end of the bacon and out the other side. Season on both sides with your favorite BBQ rub. Repeat the process for the remaining meat.

Roll the bacon and venison into a wheel, then secure with a skewer.

Place the skewers onto a preheated grill at 275 degrees. Brush the tops with BBQ sauce. Grill for 45 minutes or so or until the center reaches about 160. Don’t worry about the venison drying out because the bacon will baste it as it cooks. Brush the tops with more BBQ sauce about every 15 minutes or so during the cooking process.

Baste with BBQ sauce every few minutes as the pinwheels cook.

You can serve these just as they are, using the skewer as a handle. Who doesn’t love meat on a stick? You can also remove the skewer and serve with a knife and fork as a main course or even top with a slice of cheese and serve it on a bun as a sandwich. Any way you do it, it will be a favorite with your friends and family.

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