What is Venison? (2024)

FAQs

What type of meat is venison? ›

What Kind of Meat Is Venison? Although venison is most commonly meat from deer, the term technically refers to the meat from any game animal including elk, caribou or antelope. In fact, the word “venison” is derived from the Latin word venari, which means to hunt or pursue.

Given that deer are leaner than cows, venison is generally healthier to eat than beef. An average cut of venison, in fact, has around half the calories and a sixth the saturated fats of a similarly sized cut of beef. It also has more proteins, vitamins and minerals than beef.

The term venison comes from the Latin verb venari, meaning “to hunt.” It can refer to meat coming from boar, hares, and certain species of goats and antelopes, but is most commonly applied to deer meat. Deer meat is characterized by its fine grain and supple texture resulting from short, thin muscle fibers.

In current usage, the term venison is used to describe the meat of a deer or antelope. Venison comes from animals such as our native whitetail deer, reindeer, moose, elk, and several non-native animals such as red deer, axis deer, fallow deer, sika deer, blackbuck antelope, and nilgai antelope.

In the United States, venison is less common at retail due to the requirement that the animal first be inspected by USDA inspectors. There are very few abattoirs which process deer in North America, and most of this venison is destined for restaurants.

No, they don't taste the same. Venison has a gamey flavor(an intense flavor of an animal raised in the untamed wilderness instead of on a farm). The gamey flavor is a result of the acorns, sage, and herbs that the deer enjoyed during its life.

The term venison was originally used to describe the meat of any furred game, but in Britain it has come to mean the meat from deer (though in America it means the meat from antelope, caribou, elk, moose and reindeer, as well as deer).

Fears of chronic wasting disease

Since chronic wasting disease (CWD), a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy similar to mad cow disease, can pass from wild populations of deer to farmed deer, there has been some fear of contamination of the food supply.

Porcelet refers to a young milk-fed pig. Known as cochon de lait in French, the suckling pig is a highly-regarded delicacy that is hard to find in the United States. D'Artagnan porcelet is raised by a family-owned farm in Quebec, with a special milk diet that ensures exceptionally succulent pork.

Killing deer is a crime under Wildlife Protection Act. The foresters said they would sensitise villagers to the law.

What is rabbit meat called? ›

Unlike other animals like cows (beef) and pigs (pork) where there are other names to call them, rabbit meat is simply called “rabbit meat” all over the world. This is due to the fact that rabbit meat is uncommon and somewhat rare to be eaten, so there are no culinary terms for it.

Horse meat is called “sakura niku” or cherry blossom meat, thus horse meat hot pot is referred to as sakura nabe. There are multiple theories as to the origin of the expression. Some claim it derives from the pink color of the meat which is similar to the beautiful cherry blossoms.

venison, (from Latin venatus, “to hunt”), the meat from any kind of deer; originally, the term referred to any kind of edible game. Venison resembles beef and mutton in texture, colour, and other general characteristics. It has virtually the same chemical composition as beef but is less fatty.

Under the culinary definition, the meat from adult or "gamey" mammals (for example, beef, horse, mutton, venison, boar, hare) is red meat, while that from young mammals (rabbit, veal, lamb) is white although sometimes rabbit meat is considered red meat. Poultry is white, excluding certain birds such as ostriches.

Most game tends to be healthier for us than store bought meats, but elk is even better for you than venison! And that's just the actual nutritional value of eating your harvested meat. There is also huge health returns for the hunt itself.

Not only is Venison a very lean meat it also is a more sustainable choice as controlling growing deer populations in the UK is essential to protect woodland wildlife. Venison is low in fat, high in protein and packed with vitamins and iron. Ember Biltong broken down the top 3 health benefits of venison just for you.