Wild Venison
Chef Mike Robinson, founder of DeerBox, who supplies fully certified Wild Venison direct to restaurants, provided his expertise for this section!
Wild deer populations are at their highest numbers in 1000 years which increases the threat to existing woodlands and the creation of new woodlands. The Uk has already lost 70% of its ancient woodland. With a lack of large predators in this country, deer management has become essential to limit this growing population, protect woodlands and support biodiversity.
Wild Venison is also a really nutritious meat that is high in protein and low in saturated fat. Whole venison carcasses are extremely versatile - it’s time to serve delicious venison on the menu, and keep it on there all year around.
How to use venison cuts
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Always choose wild deer (look out for ‘forage fed’ label) to help manage their population and protect our woodlands. Use the entire animal to minimise waste. You don't have to butcher it yourself, but make sure that every part of the deer comes into your kitchen. Purchasing venison from Approved Game Handling Establishments is a great way to ensure it has been safely handled and processed to the highest quality standards. If you are using small scale game dealers then ensure that deer comes with a deer carcass tag (BDS Carcass Tags - The British Deer Society) and has been chilled to around 1.6 degrees before arriving at the restaurant. You can also ask for a DSC1 certificate and a Large Game Meat Hygiene certificate which indicates better practice.
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All wild venison is great to include on our menus and you can find out more about each species including carcass size, number of portions and flavour here. The invasive species are Fallow (considered naturalised now), Muntjac, Sika and Chinese water deer. Where possible use species local to you and leave it up to the stalker’s, who know their herds, to decide which species to use. Currently Fallow, Sika and Roe are causing most damage to the UK right now so these are good species to be using.
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Each species has various hunting seasons that are also dependent on their location though we can access venison more or less all year around given roe bucks in the summer. Utilising frozen venison is the best way to ensure complete year round venison in our kitchens. Mike is adamant that if the venison has been frozen and thawed properly, for no longer than 4 months, then no chef would be able to tell the difference. Mike’s pub the Harwood Arms has retained a Michelin star for 10 years and so he knows about high standards.
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We don’t think you need help here. Check out the diagram above on all the cuts you can use.
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Don’t forget that there is so much flavoursome offal that we should also be using - it’s the most nutritional part of the animal! Take a read here for all the reasons we should be using more offal on our menus.