Good Eats

I have not been updating my blog as often as I usually do. I do have an excuse... I have been writing for the blog at work. (See my blog role). I also have become addicted to Facebook.

Today I would like to talk about the benefits of venison. My husband has been a successful hunter for over thirty years. I am just coming into my own. Venison is a low fat and healthy meat to eat. I especially like it because it goes back to our roots and the deer is "free range". There is nothing like being able to know that you can provide for yourself and your family.

I read an article from the January issue of "Deer and Deer Hunting" called Venison: The World's Healthiest Red Meat by Dr. Phillip Bishop. In the article, he explains that venison has the lowest number of calories at 186 for 4 ounces of Venison. It is lower than Chicken breast, Veal cutlet, Pork shoulder and Ground beef. Venison has a fat content of 6.6 gm of fat, 82.7 mg of cholesterol and 29.3 gm of protein. Venison is also rich in vitamin B-2 and B-6.

Often people talk about venison as being gamy. There are several reasons why venison can taste different. The first reason is that it is a wild meat and has not been given growth hormones and other feeds. The deer had eaten naturally from the woods it come from. If there are farms and agriculture in the area, the deer will eat corn, etc. If there is no agriculture in the area, the deer will eat what vegetation around. It may eat acorns, Kudzu, grass etc. what ever it can find- even tomatoes!

Another reason, venison can taste different, is how it is harvested. If the shot is not placed well, the deer will run a ways. The longer it runs, the more blood and adrenaline is found in the meat. The last reason is how the deer is processed. To have good meat, you must cool the carcass as quick as possible. According to Dr.Bishop's article, you should get the meat temperature below 40 degrees as quick as possible. You also want to rinse the inside of the carcass to clean it out free of bacteria.

When cooking venison, you can use it in any recipe that you would use normally use beef. You do need to remember that it is a lean meat and will need to add a little of fat. (I often will add a little olive oil to add a healthy fat.) Remember that you do not want to over cook venison, it needs to be cooked slow or fast and not for very long. If you want to learn more about the healthy benefits of venison, check out Dr. Bishop's article.