What is Venison Meat?

Read our beginner’s guide to understanding venison meat. With 80 years of experience working as expert game dealers in Scotland we have accumulated our knowledge so that you can better understand what venison is, where it comes from and why we love it!

WHAT IS VENISON MEAT?

Venison refers to the meat from deer, but the early origin of the term associates the word venison with any game meat. Venison meat is described as being smooth in texture with a rich flavour. You can taste hints of acorn, sage and herds due to the lifestyle and diet of Wild deer.

HISTORY

Venison has a long history of feeding the people of Scotland, with records of its consumption dating back 2.5 million years! In more recent times Venison has been the meat of choice for the early hunter-gatherers as it was particularly good at sustaining their tough lifestyle. High levels of protein provided them with the necessary energy, and the low cholesterol and fat made it entirely possible for hunter-gatherer civilisations to eat Venison meat every day without issue.

There are four breeds of deer in Scotland but only Roe and Red deer are native to Scotland. At Aberdeenshire Larder all our venison meat comes from both Roe and Red Deer as these breeds are found locally to us in the lush fields of Aberdeenshire.

WILD OR FARMED

Venison meat is considered to be a very healthy meat for human consumption. As deer are naturally wild animals their meat can be consumed as part of a naturally healthy diet.

All of the Venison meat at Aberdeenshire Larder comes from Scottish wild deer. It is important to support the wild deer population in Scotland as their use on estates across the lowlands and highlands of Scotland contributes massively to the conservation of our beautiful countryside. As an important part of the food chain, the population of deer is important as it regulates the amount of vegetation in their natural habitat. Which has knock-on effects like creating habitats for other animals that live in the area.

HEALTH

Wild Venison also creates healthier Venison meat. The muscles of the deer are more developed and used more in the wild environment. This creates leaner meat that contains less saturated fats compared to farmed venison. It is the low levels of fat and cholesterol that make Venison meat particularly good for heart health. With high levels of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12 also contributing to good health through their support of the nervous system, brain development and blood health Venison meat is highly regarded as one of the healthiest protein options. Importantly venison is also full of high-quality protein, and like all animal products venison is a complete protein. This means that venison meat contains all the essential amino acids that human bodies can’t make on their own (hence the word ‘essentials’ because it is essential that we incorporate them into our diets).