not looking to pay $40/pound.

Cheesetique sent out an email a few days ago:

"It's Venison Time!
We have just introduced the ultimate in autumn/winter meats: all-natural Venison from Australia. Try the plump Venison Rack or outrageously delicious Boneless Leg. Feel free to call us if you need special orders or guaranteed availability, as it's going fast!"

thank you.

Deer season should be opening soon. Head down to Dick's Sporting Goods, outfit yourself, and head for the woods. After the outfiting cost, the only expenditure is the deer processing fee. With a good sized buck, you could fill your freezer and have all the venison you can eat all winter long. Make sure to have them make you some summer sausage and ground venison. The ground stuff is great in chili and spaghetti sauce.

um yeah, but don't you need to learn how to actually shoot a weapon? And isn't there something like a hunting license that you have to buy? Can anybody just go out and get a bow and arrow and go into the woods somewhere and play "Mr. Field and Stream"??!! I don't think so.

I have a friend who comes from a family of hunters and we always have venison-a-plenty thanks to him, but I am looking forward to trying out the selection at Cheesetique.

Question: Is their venison farm-raised or wild game? I had plenty of the farm-raised variety in Sweden one year and I liked it much more than the wild game type, much fattier and less... gamey.

The venison you buy at any establishment (restaurant included) would be farm raised, not wild. It is against the law to sell wild game (the hunters would go nuts if they could sell everything they shot and there would be no game left). The only exception would be if a hunter made a gift of wild game to a chef at a restaurant who put it on the menu. I've been know to do this from time-to-time.

I beleive this is also because of some health considerations. I too prefer farm raised venison to that which was shot in the wild, much less gamey. Just the opposite of salmon.

The law only prohibits the sale of domestic wild game from being sold. This allows D'artanian sells wild shot birds and hares from Scotland, however they do not sell wildshot venison.

OK, Drive out Route 7 or 66 and look for fresh roadkill. NOVA has a huge deer population and I see several new ones every day.

Mail order, best selection and pricing. Many sources but this one is good: Web: www.FarmersFallowDeer.com in Kansas, about $14 lb for tenderloin.

Last I ordered they raise Fallow deer. Red, White Tail, Mule and Fallow and Mule are deer species. Most farm-raised deer is Red or Fallow deer, because of their termperment and resistance to disease. Red deer are almost 2x as large as Fallow and are the only deer that can cross-breed with American elk.

It's not clear from the D'artagnan catalog that their hares and birds are "wild." I suspect that they are pen raised animals that have been released, allowed to eat whatever they can find for a while, and then hunted.



A lot of that goes on on the Maryland's Eastern Shore. Hunters, not willing to contend with the vagaries of the migration, will raise mallard ducks on the farm. When fall comes, they quit feeding them and they all fly out onto the river. Then, they flood a milo field (where duck blinds have been placed) and the birds all fly back. The birds are all banded with the name of the farm and the usual limits that apply to migrating ducks to not apply to these. They are easy to shoot and, frankly, I don't find it very sporting (but that does not mean I will turn down an invitation).

Our venison is from New Zealand and is farm-raised. It is also fresh (never frozen) and all-natural (no hormones, antibiotics, naturally fed, fully pastured). And of course, it's DELISH. The venison rack is around $21.00/lb and the venison boneless leg (completely cleaned - 100% meat yield) is around $14.00/lb. In my opinion, this product is unsurpassed, though admittedly, I've never tried the NOVA roadkill variety

-Jill

Does anyone know whether deer wasting disease has affected deer in our area yet? I had read it is migrating from the rockies through the midwest, but at least as of a few years ago, none had been found in the DelMarVa area. It is like mad cow disease and if you eat meat from an animal that has the disease, it may take years for you to develop symptoms. And there is no cure.

Anyone have any suggestions for what to do with venison? Someone from work is giving me some. I was thinking braising.

It depends what part of the animal you are getting. Just like beef, some muscles get more exercise than others, and I would use the same cooking methods--ie. loin would get dried out if you slow cooked it in liquid for a long time. Shoulder would probably be tough and chewy if you grilled it. IMO it is always a good idea to marinate venison, regardless of the cut. Venison is often very lean and benefits from added fat.

Was it hunted or raised, and what cut(s) are you getting?

It was hunted. I think I am getting backstraps(?) to make jerky with. Ground venison probably... so venison burgers probably mixing in some fattier meat. The rest I'm not sure. Apparently it's a struggle between the wife who is sick of it and wants to get rid of it, and the husband who wants the steaks.

If you're getting backstraps, aka, tenderloin, they're the crown jewels of the deer. What I'd recommend is a time-honored, simple hunter's recipe that you should find delightful. First, marinate them overnight in some red wine, garlic, a slice or two of onion, black pepper and maybe a bay leaf. Then, cut each into three strips, and roll them into circles. Wrap them in bacon, and throw them on a hardwood charcoal fire until they're pink in the middle. With the ground venison, you might want to make some chile-- there's really not enough fat in that for burgers unless you want to add some.

These are excellent ideas. I use ground venison for tacos, chili, anything calling for ground beef. If you want to make burgers, you'll need to get some fat to put in there or they'll fall apart. Just ask your friendly meat guy at the supermarket for some suet and they'll hook you up.

Venison also goes very well with berries- cherries, blueberries, juniper berries (an amazing amount of recipes call for this combo). Enjoy!