Tale from a 'venison' convert

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Scottish venison link 

Scottish Quality Wild Venison link

Food images courtesy of Arran in Focus

Introducing David

Gamekeeper - David

David joined the Estate on the 1^st July this year as our new gamekeeper after Alastair moved back to the mainland to take up a new post. Drew will continue to stay with us as the underkeeper whilst attending college during the year.

Alastair on a shoot last year

David has come from the Knockando Estate in Aberlour where he was the stalker / ghillie.  With over 20 years under his belt he is an experienced gamekeeper having run the pheasant shoots, stalking for both red and roe deer, along with fishing on the River Spey. At the same time as this he was responsible for the keepering at the Castle Grant shoots.

David has brought his own working dogs with him, a Labrador, spaniel and two pointers.  One is still very much a puppy that is still undergoing training and won't be out on shoots this year.

The castle like Towers

David has taken up residence at the Towers with his wife Jan and their 4 year old son, also called David. David will be attending Shiskine primary school when term starts and is enjoying living in a house that looks like a castle.  Jan has been helping with the estates holiday houses and is looking to meet new people on the island.  

Strange Antlers on Red Deer

Antler deformities

Arran is well known for its red deer which are easily seen around  Lochranza and on the flanks of the fells when going across the Sting Road, for those who don’t want to stray off the beaten path.  The Estates and Forestry Commission on Arran take the management of deer seriously, ensuring that stocks stay healthy and numbers are maintained.



Little and large antler - asymetric so likely to be injury related.

But like any wild animal anomalies and injuries can occur, sometimes with striking results for the red deer!

Antler deformity, injury or disease?

Antlers are large, branching bony appendages on the heads of the male red deer.  Antlers are shed and re grown each year from a pedicle.  New antlers are covered with a soft skin called velvet which helps too supply nutrients to the underlying growing bone. Once the antler is fully grown the velvet is shed and the bone underneath dies becoming very hard.  It is this dead bone that is the mature antler.

Curly antlers used to be seen around Catacol believed to be genetic

The growth of the antler requires a significant amount of nutrition and is the fastest known bone growth of any mammal. Lack of nutrition or minerals may be the cause for some abnormalities.

Fractured skull around pedicle caused this one.

The antlers are fully grown and hard by the time of the rut (mating season) and they serve as fearsome weapons between battling males, and can inflict fatal injuries. Fighting may damage or break an antler but it does not cause the growth anomalies shown in these pictures.

Plain antlers without tines, likely to be genetic.

The full reasons for abnormal antlers are not fully understood although some conditions are hereditary (most likely cause for the curly antlers), and these occur year on year and genetic causes will affect both antlers. Curly antlers were once a regular feature of deer around Catacol.

Hooks at the ends of the tines in this case were thought to be caused by liver fluke

Injury to the pedicle or skull can cause a direct anomaly to the antler, and also it has been well documented that an injury to the leg can cause a deformity in the antler on the same side! Both of these display as a one sided defect.


Curly antlers

Parasites and disease such as cryptorchism and hypogonadism, are the other most likely causes, along with the previously mentioned nutrition.

A closer view of the fractured skull and resulting deformity.

More curls

All images copyright of Arran in Focus

http://www.arraninfocus.co.uk/

Red deer on Arran

Red deer stag

There are 4 species of wild deer in Scotland but only one on Arran – the Red Deer. The red deer is easily recognisable and can be found on the open hills throughout the year and is often seen from the String Road.

Deer roaming through the glen 

Since the native wolf population disappeared there are no natural predators of deer, but numbers do not range out of control as Mother Nature naturally culls by providing harsh winters and limited food supplies.  In addition, there is an active Deer Management policy across Arran. Deer on Arran are counted every March, using helicopters to access more remote glens, and these numbers help to determine management policies

A Hind  

The stags weigh around 150 – 240 kg, and the hinds 110 – 170kg.  Stags are typically around 4 foot tall at the shoulder, but the neck, head and antlers make them appear much larger.

The velvet covering on new antlers

The antlers are shed each year at the end of winter.  New growth is covered with velvet, before this is shed to reveal the calcified horn below. October is the time of the mating season, known as the rut.  Bellows ring out through the glens and stags can be seen pacing parallel to each other as they assess their components size before either retreating or fighting to secure harems of hinds. If a fight does happen, serious injury can be inflicted by the antlers.  After the rut, at the start of winter coats become thicker and in stags a ‘mane’ can sometimes be seen.

Stags often collect branches and other debris on their antlers during the rut - it may be an attempt to make the antlers appear larger and therefore be a more formidable opponent. 

Brodick Castle has an amazing collection of 87 mounted stag heads adorning the walls of the main hall and staircase. These show off the antlers and just how lethal a weapon they can be.  A stag with 14 points is known as an Imperial, and one with 12 points a Royal.  Large numbers of points are only found in mature stags.

2 Stags in winter coats

Red deer, as wild animals, belong to no-one, however, the right to shoot an animal lies with the owner of the land and this is done through stalking, usually with a trained gamekeeper and only at certain times of the year.