Venison is probably one of the tastiest meats on the planet. It is also very healthy  -- extremely low fat, low cholesterol and high in protein.

 

 

 

Most Lamb & Beef recipes you like will also work with venison. Curries & stews are extremely tasty when made with venison. The venison gives the dish a much fuller flavour.

 

Unfortunately, venison has an unfortunate reputation for being tough and over strong. This reputation is primarily based on poor hunting skills: if the animal is not killed on the first shot, the more stress it is under, and the more adrenalin it releases into its tissue. Adrenalin causes the meat to become leathery and otherwise inedible (at some point, the meat should only be used for sausage). Also, meat from older (i.e. "prize" animals) tends to be much tougher.

 

Farmed venison is now becoming widely available which means that we can purchase tender young meat -- sometimes even in local grocery stores. 

 

Farmed venison is not the revolutionary new concept that the media would have us believe. Evidence shows that as early as 13,000 B.C. deer were fed hand-cut ivy, and the Magdelanian people in France intensively managed reindeer with planned harvests and herding. Conventional domestication began during the Neolithic era (10,000 BC to early history). Even the Bible (Kings 4:22-23) refers to venison feasts that would be almost impossible to serve without farming. The Persians maintained vast hunting reserves called paradises, the Romans had game parks called vivaria, and the Greeks kept animals in smaller private reserves called theriotrophia, or "mammal feeding grounds". In medieval times, Europeans kept wildland forests with Royal Game Keepers. Today, game farming is a world-wide activity, with farms on every continent. In 1985, Argentina exported 11,627 metric tons of game meat. New Zealand's 5000 farms, which hold more than 1 million deer, are expected to export more than 30,000 metric tons in 1995.

 

Environmentally speaking, venison is a good meat to farm. Indigenous species require less intensive farming methods resulting in landscape conservation:  habitat doesn't need to be destroyed, ground water doesn't need to be contaminated with pesticides and fertilizers, and soil is not subject to wind and water erosion. Feedlots and factory farms are simply not built because the animals health suffers; they prosper only in "native" environments. Deer also require much less supplemental feed than cattle (as low as 1/15); yet yeild a similar volume of meat that is also better quality. In addition, the medicinal value of antler velvet is well known:  harvested velvet is turned into a nutrition supplement for children and old people, and velvet also contains arthritic medication.