Thread: Confession time

My preference has been Fallow hinds/yearlings.

Shot a Red Stag in the bush last year just before the roar, fat as. Backs steaks were absolutely delicious.

Sacking the cook sounds expensive to me.... but some of those new young cooks look very tempting.... but probably high maintenance.... when i was young and broke i lived off Red venison and hated it after a few years, as others above have said, young grass feed Fallow are the best, well cooled and hung for a week or too helps a lot. i marinate venison a lot, it can take all the gamey taste away if soaked for a day in it.

Originally Posted by Rosco

Sacking the cook sounds expensive to me.... but some of those new young cooks look very tempting.... but probably high maintenance.... when i was young and broke i lived off Red venison and hated it after a few years, as others above have said, young grass feed Fallow are the best, well cooled and hung for a week or too helps a lot. i marinate venison a lot, it can take all the gamey taste away if soaked for a day in it.

if it smells gamey then tarragon in the marinade is your friend

There is another side to this....we are getting fussy and realistically aren't hungry anymore. When you live on Weetbix n tomato sauce for a week as nothing else in cupboard you appreciate most anything else.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

There is another side to this....we are getting fussy and realistically aren't hungry anymore. When you live on Weetbix n tomato sauce for a week as nothing else in cupboard you appreciate most anything else.

Read my mind. I'm guilty of being fussy tho.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

There is another side to this....we are getting fussy and realistically aren't hungry anymore. When you live on Weetbix n tomato sauce for a week as nothing else in cupboard you appreciate most anything else.

I will just take your word for it on that one Micky

Keep in mind there is a reason why deer were never kept as primary livestock, despite being able to retain good condition on quite marginal grazing and relatively high stocking density.

Their fat is by and large unusable. I have had venison where either fat was left on or used as part of sausage etc.

Mouth feel after eating is that of a wax crayon ( ).

I think venison has seen a revival of interest in the mainstream (outside of the traditional continental dishes) due to the touted low fat content. However, youneed to add in a whole lot of fat/oil for cooking and spice for taste still for it to be remotely palatable.

Compare this to a good cut of beef that can be cooked in it's own rendered fat and needs some salt at most to make great eating.

Originally Posted by caberslash

Keep in mind there is a reason why deer were never kept as primary livestock, despite being able to retain good condition on quite marginal grazing and relatively high stocking density.

Their fat is by and large unusable. I have had venison where either fat was left on or used as part of sausage etc.

Mouth feel after eating is that of a wax crayon ( ).

I think venison has seen a revival of interest in the mainstream (outside of the traditional continental dishes) due to the touted low fat content. However, youneed to add in a whole lot of fat/oil for cooking and spice for taste still for it to be remotely palatable.

Compare this to a good cut of beef that can be cooked in it's own rendered fat and needs some salt at most to make great eating.

Another each to their own situation.
Beef fat makes me crook. Pork fat the same. Don't get how people can eat pork flaps(new age term is pork belly) and kid themselves it's great.
Venison fat, although it might not be really good to eat, can usually be trimmed easily if you don't want it, and the meat from a fat deer is usually much nicer than one with no fat.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Another each to their own situation.
Beef fat makes me crook. Pork fat the same. Don't get how people can eat pork flaps(new age term is pork belly) and kid themselves it's great.
Venison fat, although it might not be really good to eat, can usually be trimmed easily if you don't want it, and the meat from a fat deer is usually much nicer than one with no fat.

What's the venison version of crispy pork crackling or the nice bit of crispy fat you get on a good cut of steak?

There isn't one

Originally Posted by caberslash

What's the venison version of crispy pork crackling or the nice bit of crispy fat you get on a good cut of steak?

There isn't one

Only because you prepare them differently. If you scolded a deer or steer and cooked either skin on you could probably replicate your pork crackling.
But it's greasy crapp I can do without.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Only because you prepare them differently. If you scolded a deer or steer and cooked either skin on you could probably replicate your pork crackling.
But it's greasy crapp I can do without.

Well no, in some regions of China they do actually cook deer skin (probably Sika or Sambar, possibly Muntjac) and use it in soups or stir-fry for the 'bouncy' texture (you'll sometimes hear this being reffered to as 'QQ').

Not something I'd be rushing to try but having talked to several cooks at Chinese restaurants here in the UK, the subject always comes up and I am reminded by them that most of the UK has never really been that hungry and forced to come up with solutions to making nearly everything edible.

Fat on venison is simply not the same and does not render nicely. I'm very keen to try bear at some point as it has been noted that bear oil kept most of the Western US alive at one point.

Do you like Brussel sprouts and blue cheese ?

Originally Posted by Lucky

Do you like Brussel sprouts and blue cheese ?

likely just a starved Labrador would eat that rubbish

Fallow venison with fat on it never gets trimmed.lots of salt as cooking and it's Devine and oh so sweet. Yeah fat from red not always awesome but it doesn't get chucked out either. In our home you leave the fat on till it's cooked.after that it's up to eater as to if they eat or the dog or chooks get scraps lol

Minced venison with a dollop of lard, lovely. Sausages, meatballs, biltong.... I don't care much for venison steaks. Casserole or curry is good but you can't beat lamb or a young nanny goat. Goat curry is fantastic.
I'd take a nice goat over a red any day of the week.