I think I should make
it clear right at the start of this blog that I am not a chef, gamekeeper or
professional in any way in relation to venison, albeit I work a few hours a
week on the Dougarie Estate.
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| A warming meal for winter |
Not long after I started
work here I was asked if I liked venison, I must admit I squirmed a little as I
tried to play down my negative response – remembering that this is a large part
of, Mr Gibbs, the Estate owners passion!
A short discussion followed and I was persuaded to try it again – after
all this was fresh wild venison, quality assured, the best of the best. And so
the conversion began.
A small joint was
procured and I tentatively looked at it and wondered how the best way would be to cook it; the solution was to take it to my mum’s, after all it was too big for just me,
so better to share and I had more faith in her abilities than mine. So that weekend I travelled home (I still
call it home, even though I’ve not lived there for years) and presented her,
not with a bunch of flowers but a plastic bag of raw meat.
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| Venison neck meat - Ideal for a casserole
The meal that
followed was a revelation. The meat
tender and rich with a good flavour but not too strong – I really questioned if
I had had venison before. It was nothing
like the meal I remembered and so highlighted the differences of where meat is
sourced from.
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| Browing before being put into the slow cooker |
The word venison
comes from Latin origins meaning to hunt or pursue and historically related to
any animal hunted for food, before it became more associated with deer, in a
similar way we use the phrase ‘road kill’ today. However caution may still be required as
venison meat is usually antelope on the African continent (maybe that’s what I
had before).
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| Everything thrown into the slow cooker |
There are four
species of wild deer in Scotland, red, roe, sika and fallow. Roe and red deer have been around for over 10
thousand years, although sika and fallow
were introduced. There is only red deer
on the Isle of Arran. Wild deer have no
natural predators (except man) and the numbers are managed to ensure healthy
populations are maintained. Under
Scottish law, deer are considered a wild animal and belong to no-one. However the right to shoot, kill or capture
is regulated and is usually associated to land ownership.
Venison is considered
a healthy red meat due to its low fat content which is even lower than skinless
chicken; it is high in iron and some vitamins and minerals.
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| Add stock, I find it needs very little seasoning |
The venison produced
on the Dougarie Estate is part of the ‘Scottish Quality Wild Vension’ scheme to
ensure it reaches the highest standards from ‘hill to plate’. This includes the management of the live deer
stock, right through the carcass, butchery and handling stages. It also ensures there is full traceability of
the meat back to it’s origins.
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| The logo to look for on venison meat |
There is an
equivalent scheme for ‘Quality Assured Farmed Venison’, however this covers the
whole of the UK.
Connoisseurs of
venison say that each type of deer has its own flavour but I cannot comment on
this, having only had red deer venison.
So I’m now a venison
convert and eat it regularly. I cook
mine using a slow cooker, usually putting the meal in prior to leaving for a
day on the hill, knowing I’ll come home to a house smelling warm and inviting, along with a hot meal ready and waiting.
Lots of information
and recipes can be found on these links to the Scottish Wild Venison Scheme and Scottish Venison websites.
Food images courtesy of Arran in Focus
