The Benefits of Venison: Sustainable, Healthy, and Delicious

Venison is an excellent choice for anyone interested in a sustainable, healthy, and flavourful alternative to the typical meats found in supermarkets and high street butchers. Discover why venison deserves a spot on your table and how to make the most of this versatile meat as we cover its environmental benefits, nutritional value, and the variety of cuts available as well as guidance on how to cook each cut to perfection.

What is venison?

The meat from deer is called venison and comes from the Latin word ‘venari’, meaning ‘to hunt’. This term entered the English language through the Norman French word ‘venaison’ in the 11th century, following the Norman conquest of England and the establishment of Royal Forests.

Indeed venison has been associated with royal banquets throughout history with terrible punishments, involving mutilation and even death, meted out to anyone poaching deer from Royal Forests and lands.

UK deer populations

Nowadays the wild deer population is probably higher than it has ever been, so there is plenty of wild venison available. The reason for this historic population growth has been because of the extinction of deer’s predators, such as wolves, lynx and bears, from the UK countryside. More recently the rapid increase in deer numbers has been caused by the increase in woodland planting, milder winters, and the rise in winter crops which have all helped the deer survive winter and boost their breeding potential.

Another reason for the growth in numbers has been the growth in deer species due to introductions from abroad of new ‘alien’ species. Red and roe deer are the only truly native species to this country with Fallow being introduced either by the Romans or the Normans. Sika, Muntjac and Chinese Water Deer were introduced in the last 150 years by aristocratic families wanting to diversify their deer parks. Read our blog for more information about invasive, alien deer species.

Why is a growing deer population problematic?

The exponential growth in population has led to increasing numbers of wild deer having to be culled to control the population and mitigate the problems arising from the growing numbers in both towns and the countryside. In natural woodland these include overgrazing, leading to the loss of characteristic plant species such as the oxlip and bluebell; the removal of shrubs needed by woodland bird species such as the nightingale; the prevention of tree regeneration; and, increasingly, disease transmission to humans and other species as, for example, with ticks spreading Lyme disease.

In addition the increasing numbers of deer in urban areas has led to a big upsurge in road traffic accidents and damage to gardens, allotments and parks.

Where does our venison come from?

In general venison is now available to anyone all year round because supermarkets generally import farmed venison, usually from New Zealand, which is constantly available and the advent of freezers allows venison to be sold at any time of year. However wild venison, as distinct from farmed venison, does have seasons during which deer can be controlled but due to the range of deer species in the UK, most of the calendar is covered by a deer species in season and supply can be maintained all year (see ‘Deer species’ below).

Wild Meat Company venison is sourced from a small area of coastal Suffolk which has a varied topography and land cover, including vast areas of forest and marshland which are loved by deer. Fallow and Muntjac deer, in particular, love the forest and woodlands whereas Chinese Water Deer numbers are expanding exponentially on the marshes along the Suffolk River valleys. In most cases deer feed on the neighbouring farmland at night - being mainly nocturnal - causing damage to crops to the annoyance of farmers.

Landowners, farmers, foresters and nature reserve wardens task gamekeepers and stalkers to control the deer population to a sustainable level. The culled deer have their innards, head and feet removed in the field and are then kept in refrigerated conditions until they are delivered to our butchery. The Wild Meat Company butchers then skin the deer and leave them to hang in our fridges for around 7-10 days before cutting the carcasses to customers’ requirements.

Why should you eat wild venison

Venison is a red meat with a rich flavour, being gamier than other farmed meats with a slightly liverish taste. The flavour does vary with species, the age of the animal and on what it has been eating; the latter two points being hard to gauge in our wild venison!

Most importantly venison is very lean, being low in fat and thus calories with a typical carcass content ranging from 3%-5% fat. This compares to most farmed animals having a fat content of up to 20%.

Venison is very high in protein, iron and omega N-3 fatty acids which explains its pronounced flavour even though it is so lean (fat is also associated with flavour). As a result of its lack of fat, care has to be taken when cooking it to ensure it doesn’t dry out as it has no natural fat to ‘baste’ it and make it succulent (see ‘Cooking and cuts’ below). It is perfectly safe to eat venison steaks and joints medium rare, as with other red meats.

As the UK food chain continues to strive to move to net zero, and reducing its carbon footprint, the benefit of eating a greenhouse gas producing ruminant, such as wild deer, are clear. Wild venison has a significantly lower carbon footprint when compared to farmed meats, producing only 6.53kg CO2e/kg, a fraction of the emissions from beef. And given that managing the burgeoning deer population is crucial for preserving the ecosystem, regular consumption of venison supports this necessary culling, preventing waste of a nutritious resource. Read our blog for more information about why venison is a sustainable meat choice.

What are the different deer species?

There are six different wild deer species in the UK that can be sourced during their open season. There is also a ‘closed’ season for most species to ensure that the mothers are protected when they have young that depend on them.

It is also worth noting that the males and females have different seasons (apart from Chinese Water Deer and Muntjac), as do each of the countries in the UK (except in Scotland where no seasons apply for any of the male deer); but to simplify things, the seasons for the different deer species and sexes in England and Wales are shown below.

There is no closed season for Muntjac as they do not have any discernible breeding season in the UK, breeding all year round. This means stalkers and deer managers only cull young or heavily pregnant females to avoid leaving dependent young.

While all the UK deer species have been sourced by the Wild Meat Company in the past, the most commonly available in our catchment area are those shown in italic in the Table above – Fallow, Chinese Water Deer and Muntjac. The Fallow is the largest species and produces the largest joints and cuts, while the latter two are much smaller and provide smaller cuts. The Wild Meat Co has recently offered some of its joints by each of the three species to provide a variety of tastes and cuts. For those looking to specifically purchase muntjac or Chinese Water Deer, you can find the available species specific products via the following links…

- View Muntjac venison
- View Chinese Water Deer venison

Venison cuts

There is a venison cut for every occasion: minced or sausagemeat from the trimmings off the shoulder and shin to make burgers, bolognaise or cottage pies; large joints such as the shoulder or haunch for large set meals; and the melt-in-the-mouth fillet or loin for a special and quick meal. The table below provides more detail on how to cook the different cuts:

How To Cook Venison

All the cuts which can be pan-fried, roasted or barbecued should be served pink (rare or medium rare) to ensure that they don’t dry out. If overcooked at high temperatures, these cuts become tough and dry. Ideally steaks or fillets should be pan-fried for 1-2 minutes each side, placed in a hot oven for 3-5 minutes, and rested for a further 5 minutes The exact length of time depends on probing, so remove from the oven and rest at 50-55ºC. 

Roasts of the saddle and haunch should be cooked at gas mark 8/450F/230ºC for 10-15mins/lb or 22-34mins/kg and then rested in a warming drawer for 20-40 minutes. Bigger joints benefit from shorter cooking and longer resting. Again these joints should be removed from the oven when the probe shows 55ºC and allowed to rest.

Pot roasts, stews or casseroles can be cooked for a long time (45mins/lb or 1.5hrs/kg plus 45 mins resting at gas mark 3/210F/100ºC. The meat should be friable and tender when ready to serve.

When serving hot venison, place on hot plates otherwise the meat can look grey and unappetising. For more information on cooking venison, visit our How to cook venison blog, or browse our selection of venison recipes.

Order venison online today

• Shop all Wild Venison
• Shop Muntjac Venison
• Shop Chinese Water Deer Venison

Image credits:

Deer (top): Photo © Miles Cook, Glorious Game published by Face Publications
Venison Casserole: Photo supplied by Game-to-eat
Muntjac: Photo by Amee Fairbank-Brown on Unsplash
Venison steak: Photo supplied by Taste of Game