Thread: Favorite NZ Venison

for me Fallow aged for 2 weeks, back straps/inner fillet the prime cut but even the leg steaks are bloody great if aged.
heart meat from any deer would be a close second (new convert).

For the species they are what they eat
I find the smaller the animal the nicer the meat. Fallow, Sika then Red then yearling, hind and stag
Had Tahr once. The guy cooking it over salted it so the introduction left a bitter taste in my mouth

Fallow - Jap - Red in that order
Never treid Whitetail but

PS
NEVER try and eat Sambar - like bloody Horse meat

Originally Posted by R93

Was having a chat among mates about the what everyone's favorite venison is.

I have eaten everything NZ has venison wise apart from sambar.

Most of us agreed that the old red deer is hard to beat for all around eating.
It is generally always tasty and tender.
A lot has to do with how it is treat from the shot to the table.

All the red deer I shoot for the table are fringe dwelling deer. They live off grass and shrubs in creeks, riverflats etc.
I also eat a lot of fallow and the odd whitetail.

I still think after all things considered the common red is the best to chew on.


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Send me a selection @R93 and I shall give you feed back.


For nz , red.
Stone sheep / long horn sheep, Mongolia, really rates up there for general animals.

Originally Posted by Beaker

Send me a selection @R93 and I shall give you feed back.


For nz , red.
Stone sheep / long horn sheep, Mongolia, really rates up there for general animals.

I am waiting for that parcel. Once I have your addy I will send some vacuum packed stuff up.
Some bacon and Pastrami as well.

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Originally Posted by Tommy

Eland and gemsbok, best of the best for biltong.

I think that Eland is actually a Bovid - someone correct me if that is wrong, but it would explain why they make great biltong

NZ would say Red best bang for your buck

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I have to vote for Sika as number 1 for me especially in good nick , but its probably more about there condition and a nice fat Red is mighty tasty also.

I've eaten whitetail a few times, but it never tasted great. I think the bitterness comes from the fact that it has always been from my mate's animal....

Overall, I've found red venison to be more consistent than fallow. You know what you are getting with a red. Fallow can beautiful, or can be very much below par, and with no rhyme or reason that I can work out, you just don't know until you cook it. Tahr is very under rated, very good eating meat as long as its not a rutting bull. Chammy is hardly fit for dog tucker....

Never tried any of the north island species..hope to eat Sika one day. Hope to kill one just prior to the eating!

Whitetail backsteaks but red meat for stews and curry. Fallow for a roast.

The one I eat in the bush after hunting all day whatever type it is! I'd go red then sika then fallow. Will need to shoot the other 4 kinds before I can judge them

Apart from one feed of Sika I have only eaten Fallow and Red Red/Wap cross NZ venison and I have eaten a fair bit from both animals that were...
Farmed.
Wild on farms with access to improved pasture.
Wild on public land 90% bush deer with no close tops or flats.
Wild on public land with close tops and river flats.

Averaged over that I would say in my experience the Fallow I have eaten generally are milder in flavor and possibly a touch more tender while the Reds on average are a bit more gamey and those true bush reds can do it hard at times and be very gamey and a bit tough even if a nice young hind.

Id struggle to call any Fallow I have shot a true bush deer they have all been within fairly easy range for a deer of forestry/farmland/recreation areas even if on public land.

Farmed Fallow tender and tasteless.
Farmed Red and Red/Wap cross same same but maybe a bit more flavor and texture if splitting hairs.

Wild on farm with a native buffer zone is in my humble opinion is where ONE OF the best (flavor and tenderness/condition) generally comes from, they get the flavor from browsing the native bush and get the pick of the farm for the best tucker every night.

The other is where they have access to both flats/slips bush and quality tussock all in easy deer range.

2 year old Tussock fed red hind is my pick.....Its all about what they are eating.

The big thing with meat is the handling after the animals shot. Let it breathe , Cool down then age properly. Even a Gnarly old reds not bad when aged properly. If I had to put in order - Sika , Red then fallow

Originally Posted by Nathan F

The big thing with meat is the handling after the animals shot. Let it breathe , Cool down then age properly. Even a Gnarly old reds not bad when aged properly. If I had to put in order - Sika , Red then fallow

Yes agree, looking after the meat is the most important factor.