Cajun Venison Pasta with Fire-Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce

This hunter-approved Cajun Deer Loin Pasta with a decadent, smoky alfredo sauce is our new favorite. Nothing beats a homemade alfredo sauce with well-seasoned deer loins cooked in garlicy butter over the fire. This is the perfect dish to make at your camp to please to most even the most avid of deer hunters. Need a new dish to make a dent in your freezer stash of venison? Boy, do I get it. We have a freezer-full and my husband always makes it his personal mission to fill all his tags like he has some raging vendetta against Bambi. This hunter-approved Cajun venison pasta is it.

Nothing beats a homemade alfredo sauce with well-seasoned deer loins cooked in garlicy butter.

Let your creativity flow and top this venison pasta with whatever you’re in the mood for. Or use whatever you have in the fridge! Take a stroganoff spin and add mushrooms and some sour cream in your sauce with a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Or go the more authentic Cajun route and sauté up some peppers and onions.

I read the coolest concept somewhere before that who we are is basically just a compilation of all our experiences- from the people we met, to the shows we’ve watched. Well in that case- Hi! Welcome to Chili’s!

No but for real. This dish is inspired by my time waitressing my way through nursing school at Chili’s. Chili’s has a popular dish, Cajun Chicken Pasta, which is mediocre at best. When it comes to thinking of what to make for dinner, I tend to resort to dishes I’ve eaten at restaurants for inspiration. This dish knocks Chili’s out of the park. They should come to me for recommendations.

The key to this dish is all in the sauce- well, more specifically, the seasoning. I do the typical cream, cheese, garlic, butter, pepper, and Italian herbs but then I doctor it up.

I recommend splurging a bit on a block of parmesan cheese and grating it as you need. Parmesan will last you longer than you think, and it really does make all the difference.

My biggest secret is chicken bouillon. It really boosts the flavor gives the chicken broth idea, without watering down the sauce. We like thick, creamy sauces here.

I add a little bit of mustard powder. I’m not sure why, I just threw it in once now I can’t make it without it.

Kinder’s Buttery Poultry blend. I hope one day I get sponsored from companies, but I will gladly advertise this for free for the good of my readers and whoever they may be feeding. Kinder’s makes so many good seasoning blends, but this buttery poultry blend is another one of seasoning secrets I keep up my sleeve.

When I plan to make a dish over the fire, I prep everything I can prior to make life easier.

Grab a drink, and let’s get into it.

Preparations:

Start by seasoning your deer loins. I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, steak seasoning of choice (I used Cabela’s brand), and a little Pig’s Butt Carolina seasoning (optional) for this dish. It’s always good to marinate your meat in seasonings ahead, and it made for less that I had to lug out to the fire.

Next, I would cut a few corners and made the pasta inside ahead of time. Attempting to find a pot safe to boil in over the fire (we don’t ruin our cast iron here), and then actually attempting to maintain a boil over the fire seems like a bit much, but it’s on my to-accomplish list. If you are camping, I recommend just making the pasta ahead. Toss in a little bit of olive oil and bag them up. They’ll heat right up with your hot sauce.

Prepare your pasta toppings, this is your chance to go full swing creative, without ruining the dish. If you aren’t venturing out, go ahead and cut up green onions and sundried tomatoes if needed.

I cut a stick of butter in half (1/2 for the loins, 1/2 for the sauce).

I always keep a jug of pre-minced garlic from Costco in my fridge for convenience and boy oh boy do we go through that thing. I honestly don’t find there to be a huge difference between fresh minced garlic as to jarred garlic- jarlic as you will. I’d say I used about 2 tablespoons for the alfredo sauce, and 2 more tablespoons to cook the loins in. If you don’t have that on hand, mince up your garlic cloves. If you don’t have cloves, you can use dried garlic or garlic powder but that will create a “Walmart-version” of this dish.

This is another make-or-break step- the cheese. The better, fresher the ingredients, the better the dish (well, usually). Freshly grating your cheese makes for a much smoother sauce and a more vibrant taste. For this I used Parmesan and Mozzarella as it was what I had on hand but use what you like! If you only have bagged shredded, don’t sweat it, just use it! It will still get the job done.

Grab your heavy cream. Probably around 1.5-2 cups should do. The variations in heat and different cheese types and thickness make it hard to judge an exact amount of cream needed. Really, it comes down to preference. I prefer thicker sauces with less of a milky taste.

Bring on the bread. Its winter, packing on a little ‘insulation’ won’t hurt. I prepped garlic bread from a crunchy loaf we had left over from a dip. Garlic bread is really simple, no need to buy frozen store bought. Just spread butter on of any type of bread or roll you have and top with garlic powder, italian herbs, parmesan cheese and there ya have it.

Grab your cast iron pans and head down to your fire (assuming you have a husband with a questionable pyro-like fascination with fire like I do, and the fire is already ready to cook over). This recipe works fine over the stove too, I just recommend using cast iron for the full effect of this recipe! The smoke from cooking the alfredo sauce and deer loins over the campfire adds so much definition to this Venison Pasta.

Instructions:

Melt your butter in your cast iron skillets. Once melted, add in your minced garlic to both skillets. A good rule of thumb is once the garlic is fragrant, you are ready to proceed. I find it only takes a few minutes until the garlic starts goldening. Time is difficult to gage when cooking over a fire. Just like cooking inside, you’ll quickly learn when it’s too hot or not hot enough. Trust yourself.

Add your marinated venison loins into your skillet. If you’re new to cooking over the fire, be sure frequently peak under your deer loins to make sure they are cooking at a steady rate. Cook these to your liking. I personally find that cooking the venison loins between medium to medium-well is best. Not too chewy but doesn’t feel like total mush in your mouth.

Slowly stir in your cream into your other skillet. Keep stirring until well combined. If you need to add more, you can after the cheese is added to reach your desired consistency.

Season the sauce to your liking. As mentioned above, I created a blend to bring down to the fire before cooking. Pepper, onion powder, Italian seasoning, chicken bouillon, mustard powder, and Kinder’s buttery poultry seasoning. I prefer a bolder tasting sauce, but if you are looking for a more traditional, I’d cut it back to herbs, pepper, onion and garlic powder and go from there.

Melt in your freshly grated cheese. Parmesan is really all you need, but I like to add in mozzarella which helps achieve the perfect creaminess for this cajun pasta.

Toss your pasta into your sauce. Or do it the reversed way, adding your sauce into your pasta to better dictate the perfect sauce to pasta ratio.

Don’t forget the garlic bread! Put your bread buttered side down on the grate or in another skillet. Toast until golden.

Assemble your masterpiece by adding your sliced venison loins, green onions, sundried tomatoes. Sprinkle on Cajun seasoning. Serve with your garlic bread.

Now, mess it up! Enjoy this with your go-to celebratory post-kill drink and shoot the shit telling hunting stories.

Watch me make it!

https://www.tiktok.com/@theoutcastcook/video/7182731828980108587?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7175309439261279790