Tuesday's Word: venison

Venison is the term for the meat of deer, moose, elk, caribou, and antelope. Venison may be eaten as steaks, roasts, sausages and ground meat. Organ meats are sometimes eaten, but would not be called venison; rather, they are called humble, as in the phrase "humble pie." Venison is lower in calories, cholesterol and fat than most cuts of beef, pork, or lamb.

Venison has enjoyed a rise in popularity in recent years, owing to the meat's lower fat content. In many areas this increased demand has led to a rise in the number of deer farms. What was once considered a meat for unsophisticated rural dwellers has become as exotic as ostrich meat to urbanites. Venison jerky can be purchased in such grocery stores as Trader Joe's, ordered online, and is served on some inflights of Alaska Airlines in first class. Venison burgers are typically so lean as to require the addition of fat in the form of bacon, olive oil or cheese, or blending with beef, to achieve parity with hamburger cooking time, mouth-feel, and taste. Some deer breeders have expressed an interest in breeding for a fatter animal that displays more marbling in the meat.

Since it is unknown whether Chronic Wasting Disease, a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy among deer (similar to Mad Cow Disease), can pass from deer to humans through the consumption of venison, there have been some fears of contamination of the food supply [1]. No known cases of the disease have occurred in deer farms in the United States or Canada, but European farms in Scandinavia may have had several cases. Farmers now have had tests developed especially for the particular species they raise to obtain better results than those used on cattle.

Wikipedia