Venison – All You Need to Know | Instacart’s Guide to Groceries

What is venison?

In the States, venison refers to deer meat. While venison originally meant the meat of a game animal, it now refers primarily to the meat of antlered and hoofed animals such as elk or deer.

Are there different types?

You can eat venison roasts, steaks, chops, loin, or tenderloins. You can also cook with ground venison as you would ground beef or use it to make venison patties, meatballs, or sausages.

Is there a season for venison?

Fresh venison is most readily available during deer hunting season in the fall. Depending on the state, deer hunting season begins in September and goes until December or January.

Venison farms

Deer farming, established in the 1970s, is a way for farmers to maximize their land for profit. The meat from farmed deer is as low in fat and high in protein as their truly wild counterparts.

How does venison compare to beef?

A significant difference between venison and beef is the fat content. Venison is leaner with almost 50% less fat and has a more complex flavor profile. It is also very nutritious, contains high protein and essential nutrients, and is less likely to contain antibiotics and hormones found in mass-produced beef.

Because of the low fat content, preparing venison can be tricky. Cook tender cuts quickly to prevent the meat from drying out. Slow cooking cuts, such as roasts and stewing meat with marinades or stock, keep the meat moist and juicy.

Health benefits

When compared to beef, venison is lean and low in cholesterol. Venison is a good source of B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6, and Vitamin B12) as well as the following minerals:

• Zinc
• Phosphorous
• Iron
• Selenium
• Potassium

Nutritional information

From a 100 gram portion of deer, you can expect approximately the following:

• 158 calories
• 30 g protein
• 3.2 g total fat, of which 1.3 g is saturated fat
• 112 mg cholesterol
• 335 mg potassium
• 54 mg sodium
• 0 g dietary fiber

How do you select venison at the grocery store?

While shopping for venison is like choosing any other meat, here are some things to note:

• Check the packaging. It should be clean and free from holes.
• Fresh venison is a dark brown-red. Avoid meat with brown spots as this could indicate improper storage or meat going bad.
• Venison meat should not be gray, show signs of freezer burn, or compromised packaging.
• Avoid meat that has excess liquid in its packaging.

How to store venison

Treat raw venison the same as any other raw meat.

• To prevent the meat juices from contaminating other foods, keep the meat wrapped or in a sealed container.
• Refrigerate venison meat at 41 °F or cooler.
• Store venison meat in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
• Whole cuts of raw venison should be consumed within three days. Use ground, raw venison within one to two days.
• Frozen venison can keep for six months or longer. After six months, you will lose some flavor and risk freezer burn.
• To limit freezer burn, wrap venison tightly or vacuum pack the meat.

How to tell if venison has gone bad

Here are a few things that may indicate that your venison is no longer safe to eat:

• A black tint, dark brown, or dark green color indicates that the meat may be off.
• The texture of the surface of the meat should be smooth. Sliminess may mean that it is going off.
• Fresh venison should have a distinct gamey smell. It should not smell sour, yeasty, or unpleasant.

Preparing venison

If your venison is frozen, the safest way to thaw the meat is in the refrigerator. For whole cuts like roasts and steaks, it needs to reach an internal temperature of 145 °F. Cook ground venison to an internal temperature of at least 160 °F.

Tender cuts such as tenderloin and loins are ideally served between rare and medium-rare. They respond well to a quick pan sear or grilling under high heat for a short amount of time. The tougher cuts like the neck, shoulder, and shank, should be cooked low and slow—these are perfect for stewing, braising, or making soups.

Venison is lean meat. Therefore, when slicing the meat, cut against the grain. The “grain” of the meat is the direction in which the muscle fibers lie. For leaner or tougher cuts of meat, cutting against the grain shortens the length of the fiber and makes the meat easier to chew.

For people who are new to game meat, marinating the meat can help to disguise the gamey flavor. Marinating also helps tenderize the meat to some extent. Ingredients with high acidity are ideal meat tenderizers—for example, lemon juice, pineapple, and vinegar make a delicious marinade.

What can I substitute for venison meat?

All venison recipes should do well with a substitute of beef, pork, or lamb. However, if you’re substituting a beef recipe with venison, it may not work out. Venison is considerably leaner and becomes tough when cooked incorrectly.

Shop venison online

You don’t have to hunt to enjoy game meats. Thanks to Instacart, you can order your venison online and have it delivered directly to your home, hotel room, vacation rental, or Airbnb. Just add everything you need to your cart and choose same-day delivery or pick up at check out.

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Author

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