Venison, like other wild game meat, is much better for you than domestic meats such as beef, pork and the like. For one thing there are no chemicals in deer meat, whereas domestic meats contain “additives” from their feed to fatten them up.
Another desirable quality of venison is it’s not marbled with fat. Yes, fat makes a more juicy steak, but it is not the best thing for you.
The cholesterol in venison is the “good” kind, not like in beef. This is because deer don’t just eat and lay around like domestic animals. They are very active and eat a variety of natural foods without artificial additives.
Many people say they don’t care for venison because they claim it has a strong taste or is tough. True deer meat may taste gamy and can be tough — if it isn’t handled properly. The problem comes from several sources, the first being how the animal is handled after it’s killed. It starts right in the woods when the entrails are removed. Accidental cutting of the bladder or intestines can ruin the meat quickly as that promotes the rapid growth of bacteria, thus spoiling the meat. A similar problem develops when the weather is warm and the deer is not cooled quickly by skinning and then processed quickly.
The gamy taste often comes from meat that hasn’t been trimmed up carefully or kept clean. The fat that you see on the outside of a skinned deer caress is not fat but tallow. This tallow turns rancid, even when it is frozen, and makes the meat “strong”. Most butchers are used to handling domestic meat and it is common to leave some fat on the meat to add to the favor and keep the meat juicy when cooking. When they cut up deer they may treat the tallow as fat and that’s where the problem starts. There is a lot to be said for butchering your own deer because it eliminates this problem, if you take the time to do it right. Boning out the meat and then carefully removing all the tallow on the individual muscles will yield some fine eating.
Another way to ruin venison is by freezing it incorrectly. After about 40 years of cutting up my own deer I have come to some hard conclusions. First, it is best to freeze bigger chunks of meat and cut them up later when they are thawed for use. The smaller the cuts, the more vulnerable to freezer burn, which will ruin the taste of any meat.
How the meat is wrapped before freezing is also important. I wrap my “chunks” in two layers of cling wrap, removing as much air as possible, then wrap them tightly in freezer paper. The last step is to place the package in a zip freezer bag and remove as much air as possible. This can be done with a vacuum sealer, or the cheap way like I do: seal the bag almost shut, then insert a straw, pinch off the sides around the straw, suck out the air — while pulling out the straw with your mouth — and quickly seal the bag. It sounds funny but it has worked wonderfully for me for years. I have found packages of venison “lost” in the freezer for three years and discovered that they are just as good as when I processed them.
There is one more way to ruin venison: Just overcook it. Most people treat deer meat like beef and that’s a mistake. Remember, beef is marbled with fat and so it will remain juicy and moist. Venison is very lean and it is easily dried out.
Usually I cook venison in a frying pan with water and whatever seasoning appeals to me at the time. I watch it closely to make sure it’s not overcooked. The trick is to cook it only long enough to brown the outside but keep the inside pinkish. It all depends on the thickness of the cut.
Treat venison properly and you will experience delicious eating that is also much healthier than domestic meat.