Give game a try: our guide to venison

The next time you’re thinking about cooking beef, consider substituting it with venison instead. This is what Sam, our Supply Chain Manager, told me recently. Compared to numbers which were available in the 1800’s, there’s more venison available now in the wild than ever before, particularly in the southeast and west parts of England.

Venison is a lean, versatile meat that comes packed with protein, haem iron, zinc, and B vitamins 6 and 12. For more on the amazing health benefits, I recommend giving this past blog post a read: the top five health benefits of venison. At Field & Flower we have a selection of venison cuts available year-round, but peak game season is typically from October to January. All our venison is wild shot, in accordance with Aim to Sustain's guidelines from around Buckinghamshire and the West Country and is refrigerated within 3-4 hours of shooting.

I have personally not tried venison before and have been hesitant about introducing it into my weekly rotation of meals – thinking it would be a flavour that I wouldn’t personally enjoy. It’s been described to me as having a rich, clean taste, and I’ve been assured by Sam that if I like beef, I’ll probably like venison.

When cooking venison the main goal is to retain moisture, due to it being lean. There are a few ways you can do this, such as marinating your cut of choice before cooking, or cooking it low and slow in a casserole. Some venison cuts may also come wrapped in a lacey layer of fat, called crepinette. This comes from a French tradition where minced meat is wrapped in caul fat, which is the fat in between the organs of an animal. When used with venison, the idea is that you leave the crepinette on while it’s cooking. This layer of fat will then melt into the meat, helping to keep it moist and tasty.

Whether you’re new to the protein, or you’re wanting to include more venison in your regular scheduled order, we recommend the following cuts and some recipes to help get you started.

1. Diced venison: This is cut from the leg and shoulder of the deer. We suggest using this in a hearty casserole or stew, which is perfect for those crisp autumn days or the winter months ahead. Try our venison stew with bacon and parsley dumplings recipe here. This would work well in a venison reddang curry, as well, according to Sam.

2. Wild venison haunch: Cut from the top of the hind leg, Sam recommends this for a mid-week or Sunday roasting joint. They come in a range of sizes so we should have one to fit your needs! Soon these will be available pre-wrapped in crepinette for easy cooking. For more tips and our recommended recipe, see a previous blog post on this cut here.

3. Venison burgers: These are a very lean alternative to beef burgers, so you won’t see a lot of fat render out while cooking. They’d be great for an easy mid-week meal that has lots of flavour.

4. Venison sausages: Like the burgers, these are a great mid-week option. Blended with pork and juniper, it will pair well with just about any side dish of your choice. We like it in our Venison Toad in the Hole recipe, found here.

5. Venison Osso Bucco: Like our more traditional Veal Osso Bucco, it’s cut from the shank, and then crosscut into discs with the bone marrow inside. This is a tougher cut of meat, so it’s best cooked simply over 3 to 4 hours. The marrow acts like a natural butter and disappears when cooked down, helping to baste the meat so that it practically melts in your mouth when done. Try braising this cut in red wine to complement the richness of the meat and then serving it with a hearty helping of potato mash.

I hope this inspires you to try a cut of venison in the future. I’m looking forward to my next Field & Flower box where I will be trying our venison sausages for the first time!