Wild Scottish Venison
It is generally accepted that deer are more widespread and established now than at any other point in the last millennium. Deer population owes its growth to several influences including mild winters, agricultural planting of winter crops and a trend to eating farmed cattle and sheep rather than game.
It is very difficult to get accurate figures for the UK’s deer population but it is estimated to be as many as 2 million.
Our wild venison is sourced from well managed game estates in the Scottish Highlands.
Wild Venison offers the ultimate in sustainable meat, it lives naturally on areas of land managed for moorland and woodland (habitats wonderful for ‘locking up’ atmospheric carbon) and is a by-product of good nature conservation.
Wild Venison is very high welfare, it lives naturally so is unhandled and unstressed until it is slaughtered. Slaughter involves a quick fatal shot from a professional stalker and should cause little if any distress.
Meat from deer has been important in the human diet since prehistoric times. The term venison (from the Latin venari - to hunt) originally referred to meat from any wild animal.
The meat from deer is a low fat red meat, rich in iron that is very versatile in cooking and full of flavour. Wild venison is higher in polyunsaturated fats and has a good polyunsaturated to saturated (P:S) and omega n-3 to omega n-6 ratios. This is largely because deer feed on grass and vegetation rather than high-energy cereals.
Cook venison as you would beef. It works well to cook the cheaper cuts long and slow in sauces and gravies. It is a good idea to introduce alternative fats such as bacon lardons etc when cooking to avoid the meat becoming too dry.
Top end cuts of Venison such as the loin and steaks are best cooked rare, they will remain tender and succulent.
Mrs Beeton (in her Book of Household Management) recommends serving venison on very hot plates as venison fat has a high melting point. This seems like sensible advice as cold venison is certainly much less appetising than, say, cold beef.
Flavours that work well with Venison are Juniper, redcurrant, red wine, garlic, rosemary, port, rowan jelly.