Ruby Red
Venison is dark red colored that is much deeper toned than beef. (Be aware that you cannot rely on the color of the meat to judge doneness!) Venison -- deer -- feed on leaves, grass, forrest mushrooms, lichens, herbs, twigs, berries and such. Hence their meat is woodsy, herbaceous and gamy tasting, and dark in color. The meat has no marbling (little white fat pockets in the meat) so it’s lean and low in fat.
(venison loin with chantarelle mushrooms and purple potatoes - notice the deep red color)
Cooking
Meat parts like shoulder and shin require longer, slower cooking times. Fancy parts such as loin, filet and upper leg (a/k/a denver leg) become succulent when cooked quickly on a grill or in a skillet. I prefer the quick cooked parts cooked to a medium temperature. You can find venison in the supermarket in the frozen food section (usually stewing meat from shoulder or such which is quite reasonably priced) and fancier parts such as loin you’re more likley to find fresh in natural meat markets.
I have cooked with venison from North America (Washinton, Maine), and Europe (usually Scandinavia or Russia) and of course from Austria (my homeland). Here in the US most venison available has been imported from New Zealand actually. Deer farms in New Zealand such as Cervena (the most prominent in my experience) do an excellent job of producing a consistestly superb quality venison product.
(venison stew with rainbow carrots and croutons)
Some Deer Facts
-Generally hunting season begins in October and ends in December when trails in the snow can be indentified as deer by their split huff.
-Antlers, their solid bony appendages, shed every year in January when mating season is over and they’re not needed anymore to impress their mates.
-Deer sold commericialy in the US is free-ranged and farm raised this is the only way the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) aproves it.
(venison medaillon, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard and juniper crisp)
Breeds of Deer (relevant to cooking in different contries)
Fallow deer – they have the little white spots on their back they habitat England and Switzerland. Like Bambi.
Roe Deer – they have gigantic antlers and come from middle Europe
Moose or Elk – the largest in the deer family, they like to stay in Subarctic regions
Reindeer or Caribou – originally found in Scandinavia and now numerous in North America, antelope like.
A Deer tale
Many years ago I received a frantic phone call from my girlfriend that she collided with a deer. Lucky her she walked away with a few scratches. The car was totaled the deer dead.
Every year when holiday season comes around she tells the horrific story of that night how the gigantic deer lay next to her crashed car – and me I keep cooking my venison stew wishing she had at least salvaged the meat.
