Game For A Gamey Meat

Venison is the name for any type of meat that is hunted. Its roots lie in the latin word venor which means to hunt or to  pursue. Initially venison was used for any hunted animal belonging to the family of deer, wild pigs or boars , hares,  particular types of goats and ibex like elk, red deer, moose, roe deer, reindeer, fallow deer, caribou, brown hare, blue  hare, artic hare, pronghorn. Today the term is exclusively used for species of deer including antelope.

This meat is eaten in  various forms; such as steaks, sausages, roasts, jerky, tournedos, minced meat etcetera. Its flavour is similar to beef but  is much richer and the taste described is gamey meaning not bland. Since this meat comes from wild animals, the flavour of  the meat is largely dependent on what the game lived on and the quality of life it had. This meat has picked up in recent  years as it considered as much healthier than beef for its low content in fat, calories and cholesterol. It is high in  moisture but is still quite tough just like beef.

A haunch of venison is usually available in Europe during the hunting  season. Many Jews have this meat once its prepared the kosher way. Due to the rise in demand for this meat, deer farms have  been cultivated and it has become a delicacy just like Ostrich meat. This meat at one time was considered as the rural  people’s meat especially in places like the mid south of U.S, Mississippi Valley, the Midwest. The meat is available in the  supermarkets of the U.S. as jerky. When preparing it as hamburgers, additional fat or oil needs to be added as the meat is  very lean to get a texture like the hamburger.

Kosher version of this meat is not available in the U.K. As mentioned venison  is available widely in Europe during the months of October to December. One needs a license for deer hunting and can hunt  only in areas deemed suitable for game hunting. Heavy fines are thrust upon violators and there is poaching of meat happening  due to the rise in demand. Most of the venison in the world that is available in super markets comes form New Zealand. Due to  the difficulty on encounters in buying the meat, today orders can be placed online and delivered to your house.