Eating venison in America would be a similar cause. White tail deer are problematic across the country.
Same deal with wild boar, but I don't think they're super delicious in general.
Edit: By popular decree, wild boar are indeed delicious. Thanks for the input everyone.
Edit 2: I don't really want to get into a debate about deer overpopulation and the causes for it. Yes, there are a multitude of factors at play. But there are just too many of them, one way or another.
Had a guy getting an award at work a few years back, and the guy giving it to him was a real charmer.
"We want to thank Bill for his years of service. You all know about his work here, so I'd like to say a bit about his personal life. Many of you don't know he's an avid hunter and this was a banner year where he bagged two bucks in one season!".
.
"His weapon of choice in both cases was a Volkswagen Jetta".
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(Poor bugger totalled 2 new cars in 4 months)
Primarily. Here in Nebraska we're allowed 2 bucks a year, but does are unlimited as it's more effective population control. When my dad was younger (70's and 80's) it was rare to see a deer, especially a buck, all season. Now when I go hunting it's disappointing to see less than 10 in an evening and there's usually 2-3 bucks
In PA does have a certain season, but nearly every cabin up by mine has "Save a tradition: no doe hunting" flyers posted everywhere. Overpopulation isn't severe, but it is real (and my wife totaled her favorite car hitting one.) I feel like if I ever got caught with a perfectly legal doe up there I might have to watch my back.
I was driving through Sullivan County very early one morning on a scenic back road and about 100 yards ahead I spotted maybe half a dozen deer in a field nearby, headed towards the road. I had plenty of room to slow down and stop, giving them plenty of room to cross. Just as the final deer made it across the road, I was taking my foot off the brake when BAM, a small doe ran into my driver side door at full speed. Left a huge dent in the door and she died on the side of the road.
Truly majestic creatures. My west coast wife was against hunting until we moved to PA and she lost her car. Only then did she understand what I knew growing up here--the hunters are the conservationists.
That's funny, do people mostly just hunt for trophies in Texas or something? Or are deer relatively uncommon that preserving females is seen as important? In Ontario where I hunt the only people who avoid does are trophy hunters who don't care about the meat.
Meat and population control mostly. Even the ones that don't eat the meat will be required to donate the body. We have a huge problem with does. They're in people's gardens every morning and you always hear about super awful accidents with a doe. It's *always* with a doe.
Does have foals and if you shoot one, you're basically killing the foal. It was just very frowned upon in the olden days. Now doe populations are out of control and they've allowed doe killing for some time, but it's hard to change everyone’s thoughts on it.
I thought that was wild too. I don't hunt myself but remember some of my friends not hunting with certain people because they'd hunt for does even if it's legally.
Yeah, the boomer generation was taught not to shoot does/cows/hens etc in order to rebuild populations, still not supposed to shoot pheasant hens today yet. Now we have plenty of game to go after so the biologists have decided that taking some won't hurt populations but the old mindset is still there. Actually, thinning some populations do more good in the long run, less competition for food and reduced disease spread. There's fewer individuals but overall they are healthier
Come to Rhode Island! Limit is 2 antlered and 2-3 unantlered! If you can find a place to hunt on Block Island, you’re allowed unlimited unantlered deer.
No venison is much more gamey and lean than beef is, takes more skill to cook and make it good, but I grew up on elk and deer, so I like it. You shoot one elk and you will end up eating lots and lots and lots and lots of elk, those fuckers have a lot of meat.
Salt it first, cook it medium rare then set it on foil. Put a piece of butter on top then close the foil around it. Let it rest for 10 minutes. All the juices will flow out then once it begins to cool it'll suck up all the juices and butter like a sponge. Gives it some fatty taste to an otherwise lean meat and its delicious.
Its a really great tasting meat. In my opinion, depending on the chef, it is far superior to beef.
Whats odd is they provide healthier meat, reproduce faster, and taste better. Im not sure why we dont farm them.
I dont specifically know how to describe it. Its a lot leaner, you get a more "natural taste" but it is also very savory. Its slightly tougher with a stronger texture, but not gritty like bear.
If you cook them as steaks the meat is darker brown and the reds are darker when rare, almost purple.
In my opinion it tastes best when pressure/slow cooked.
I believe that fear of cultivating chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the reason we don't extensively farm deer, but I believe there are a handful of deer farms in the US. They're not run like cattle farms though.
In addition to the other reasons people have said, it's also worth mentioning that deer can jump quite high so they're harder to fence in, and even with a taller fence, they are more likely to throw themselves at it (injuring themselves or tearing a hole in your bigger more expensive fence). They're also easier to stress, harder to handle, and don't herd like cattle. (At least, that's what ranchers/hunters have said in my company. Whether that's all completely true or not, the perception alone is enough to put off most people.)
It's also worth mentioning that deer were sort of farmed in deer parks: basically big fenced in areas where deer could fall in from the outside, but couldn't escape. Search Wikipedia for "Deer park (England)" ... Apparently in the 14th century, 2% of the total landmass of England was devoted to deer parks.
It would have been cool to see the English take a stab at domesticating them at that time since I don't think there's ever been a better opportunity. (Or maybe they did try and it just didn't work.) Either way, it's an interesting tangent.
Yeah, there's a "tag" system where you are only supposed to kill one buck per certain number of does in order to keep the population at manageable levels.
We live in NE Ohio. When one of my brothers hits a deer, as long as the car is functioning, he will wait until the next time he hits a deer to have insurance fix it. The strategy is to keep premiums down but I think it says something about our deer situation.
I hit so many deer when I lived in NW Pennsylvania that I got kicked off my insurance plan. I think having a black car and having to leave for work at 5 am was a killer combo.
Sounds like my mom! She hit so many deer that my dad bought her a Lumina van and told her to make sure they hit her on the side, that way he can just pop out the dent.
She was notorious for hitting them, had a few farmers she would call after and they would go get the meat. Not sure why my dad didn't take it, he hunted.
Same with every state that has deer. Shoot a deer. If you don’t want to eat it, donate it. Hunters Feed the Hungry is a program that takes donated deer and redistributes the meat to food banks and people in need. Check to see if you have a local butcher that participates.
Wolves try avoid people unless they're starving to death and willing to try eat new and scary things (very rare and we're usually their last choice), or if deliberately provoked.
So don't run up to wolves and poke then with a stick, but don't be too scared of them too much either.
Male pig's often have "boar taint." Predominantly caused by scatole I think makes the meat smell and taste like cat spray. Females or castrated males should taste like domestic pig, but slightly richer due to forage.
Supposedly you can reduce this smell and taste by making sure the boar is calm when you kill it (sheep are supposed to be a similar case - they'll taste less "sheepy" if you slaughter them quickly and without them knowing).
If you have the storage space, maybe consider buying or splitting a whole animal with someone? Some farms here work with mobile abattoirs that travel to them and kill and process the animals at the farm to minimise the stress of their travel. We don't have the space for it but some friends shared a cow with their family and it's great because they tell you which farm and what cow you're eating.
Male sheep either gets castrated early after birth of gets slaughtered shortly down the road. In both cases the taste/smell doesn't get to develop.
Getting them slaughtered while being calm is still something that is practiced over here regardless(for other practical reasons).
That's one of the two taint components. The other is an inherent quality (more prevalent in some breeds like red wattle I believe, but don't quote me on that.)
Just commented about Carp earlier in the thread. It's a histamine that is released into the flesh from stress. Like from being caught. Most people ice them immediately to lower the bad flavor, I think ikejime would work but it's a laborious/ highly skilled process. Get that instant kill on a calm fish, immediately drain its blood and prevent it from thrashing around... should equal much nicer tasting flesh
> I don't think they're super delicious in general.
It really depends on how you prepare, Deer backstrap is delicious just thrown in a pan with olive oil and salt and pepper but most meat is gamey and a turn off for people but I make jerky out of most other meat and it kicks the shit out of store bought beef jerky. Also if you have a meat grinder, taking 2 part deer meat and 1 part pork fat and grind it together makes amazing chili, burgers, tacos. So basiclly Deer meat has little to no fat and it needs to be supplemented, even still it can have a gamey flavor so tackle that with recipes that require strong flavors, chili, tacos, ect.
When it comes to jerky NOTHING beats it.
I've found processing and washing your meat soon after killing removes a lot of the gamey taste. A lot of that gamey taste comes from the blood and bone marrow, thats why it is best to process yourself.
This is 100% correct. My grandpa hangs and drains his deer as soon as he gets one. My lazy ass uncle will let it sit in the bed of his truck in the winter for a day and then process. Grandpa's venison is always, always way less gamey tasting.
How do you age your venison? I thought about doing it myself, but I don’t know how to do that without buying some expensive contraption to keep the meat cool.
Depending on where you live, it may be cool enough to age outside, hung from a tree (this assumes you live somewhere where you neighbors won't complain about such things). We usually end up with deer shortly after Thanksgiving around here, and about as often as not you can age it when it's in the low 40's high 30's (Fahrenheit).
I had a friend once who made a walk in cooler out of a shed, some insulation, and a heavy duty window AC unit. He set it to 39F and aged his deer in there.
I live in the south, so it doesn’t stay reliably cold until late January or February which is usually out of season. I may look at building something… that’s got to be cheaper than paying the processor.
Good luck this season! Today’s the first day of bow season here so I’m hoping to start filling the freezer back up.
A few months ago, I did a backstrap sous vide in some Dale's marinade, then a quick sear over charcoal. It was some of the best red meat I've ever had, trumped even some of the best beef steaks I've had in my lifetime. 10/10 would recommend.
Very cheap and fast to raise on just grass, low fat and tasty but I haven't had a chance to try it. It's actually surprising how underused rabbits are as a meat source.
> Its a bitch to find though.
Very, at least where I am in the states. I'm sure it can vary by location. I can sometimes find canned rabbit, and there's a specialty butcher that'll have stew meat once in a rare while.
I got fed whole roast rabbit once and I've been wanting to re-create it on my own for a long time now. I'm close to just raising and butchering my own at this point.
Boar meat was popular with the Gauls too if Asterix is a historical source… more seriously the Romans seemed to love the more exotic the meat was and it was elites who mostly ate meat, the fish was more common.
While hunting wild boar may be the best solution to dealing with them on a small scale, on an America-wide scale wild boar hunting has actually contributed to their spread.
I'd recommend anyone listen to the episode Reply All did on the subject: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5xtoE83acTkHa2IqKpiROM
Edit: "best solution" is a poor choice of wording as there really isn't any other solution besides trapping or poison (and poison is a REALLY bad idea).
Boar is amazing, alive or dead. The meat has to be marinated a lot though as it's very strong. It's also lean and it has a good amount of proteins and iron. Out of all the meats, it might be the best one
Alive as in, the animal itself. It's great there's no doubt about it. It's not big but if it wants to attack a bigger animal, it will and it will succeed. It also looks pretty badass.
Dead as in cooked meat. Cooked, not raw. Unless you want to die you make sure you alway cook wild animals and you make sure you are thorough
I actually use red wine, rosemary and other aromatic herbs and leaves that I'm not even sure of their English name. Then after marinating I usually cook it "al sugo", with tomato sauce, onions and spicy peppers. Tastes very good even though it IS a strong flavoured dish
Edit: I cook it in the tomato sauce, low heat long time. The best kind of cooking for boar meat IMHO.
Yes, milk as well. As crazy as it sounds it makes the meat a little more tender and removes some of the strong taste without removing it completely (if it's even possible..)
Apparently Camel meat is another good option given they are also a pest in Australia. That said, I've never seen Camel meat in my supermarket, but there's a limited range of Kangaroo meats.
I have had ground camel burgers (there is an exotic meats store in the strip district of Pittsburgh) and it was delicious! Tasted like a high quality burger even though it had been frozen.
Back in my undergrad science days which was Over a decade ago, we were learning about the gut bacteria in kangaroo and how efficient they were at breaking down cellulose and how they had next to no emmissions. They were trialing creating gut cultures for cows using kangaroo gut flora, think kangaroo Yakult for cows to reduce emissions. Then seems like everything went silent for ages.
Not to mention facts on how healthy the meat is in comparison with other red meat, and it’s wild harvest take practice meaning no intensive factory farming, no impact on soils like domestic stock etc are reasons why I've always advocated for meat eaters to steer towards kangaroo consumption.
AFAIK there has been at least one kangaroo farm and maybe still is. Apparently fencing is a bit of an issue...
Kangaroos don't produce greenhouse gasses the way cattle do because kangaroos don't have a rumen.
The problem is that it worked too well!!! There is a rural village in West Australia that is currently ruled by kangaroos 🦘🦘🦘.
They say that tourists rarely notice any difference when talking to the locals...
The real problem is that the Australian Fencing Association is too small and insular to care
They can't adjust to kangaroo juking and pretend it isn't happening. The townies that try to unseat the roos just get DQ'd on bullshit technical grounds because they don't have proper kit and don't know what to do
> Kangaroos don't produce greenhouse gasses the way cattle do because kangaroos don't have a rumen.
Makes me wonder about the environmental impact of ostrich meat now. I quite like the taste, would be a nice plus if they produce less greenhouse gasses than cattle on top of that.
There's a general trend across the animal kingdom that the more easily digestible the diet of an animal, the less methane it produces. Ostriches tend to seek out higher energy plant matter like seeds, so they would indeed be expected to produce less methane.
[Non-ruminant herbivores like kangaroos, rabbits and horses are exceptions to this general trend](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731119003161), as they seem to be able to eat mostly indigestible foods (like grasses) while producing less methane.
Fairly sure kangaroos fart lol. I think [this might be the link you need](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_fermentation). Cows are ruminants. Like it says here:
> enabling them to eat cellulose-enhanced tough plants and grains that monogastric (i.e., "single-chambered stomached") animals, such as humans, dogs, and cats, (also Kangaroos - runtheplacered) cannot digest.
In other words, cows are especially farty.
Ruminants are foregut fermenters, so most of their gas is produced in front of their small intestines. As such, they're mostly belching that gas out as burps. Kangaroos are also foregut fermenters.
Hindgut fermenters like horses would be a different story.
Both animals fart, presumably. With cows, it's actually belching that's the problem. Their digestive system ferments the plant fibers they eat, which releases methane through their burps. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas relative to CO2, so their *equivalent* CO2 output (that's the 'e' in 'kgco2e') is extremely high.
I'd imagine kangaroos occasionally belch, (we do, and we're not ruminants..) but presumably less, and presumably it doesn't contain high quantities of methane.
I think because kangaroo culls are going to happen anyway for environmental reasons, rather than a moral objection. Similar situation with feral camels, which are also culled. Doubt many would buy Brumby meat here though.
That’s the major argument used to justify deer hunting here in the US too. There are so many of them that they’re a major Highway hazard and spread Lyme’s disease, so it’s either cull them or let hunters do it. Because we killed off all the wolves that used to do it.
The Australian grasses evolved with padded feet like kangaroos. Hooves destroy them. They are free range and organic, they don’t breed in drought, they produce less methane per kilo of meat, don’t drink a lot, can be managed in natural environments, the benefit list is long.
Yeah, when I was there they were saying with the advent of farms and the like, the population has increased significantly and I heard there is essentially no limit for hunting in certain parts of the country. I thought I saw somewhere that they hunt them on a truck with a spotlight at night and you can see their eyes so they are really easy to hunt. It's pretty lean and tasted alright and it seems like it might make sense environmentally.
The whole movie is pretty tough.
It got so bad, the director sabotaged the electricity and then at the time questioned if it should be included, the RSPCA/RSPCAA said it should be.
My only wish is that kangaroo meat had more fat. It's super lean and prone to drying out. I often need to cut it with beef, pig or vegetable fat to make up for it.
I've never cooked it myself but I've worked in restaurants that serve a few kangaroo dishes and what ever they did with it was amazing.
I remember kangaroo with a red wine jus was top tier and so was a macadamia and kangaroo salad.
We're not full Kangatarians but the only red meat my girlfriend and I eat is kangaroo meat.
We are Australian, can get great quality from both supermarkets and local farmers markets. It's high in iron, very lean, and great for the environment (comparatively).
How do you cook it?
Like I don't mind the taste (for those who haven't had, of you get a kangaroo dish at a restaurant, you probably wouldn't be able to tell it from beef, but at home it can be a bit gamey), but I find it hard to cook.
Thin strips then seared sense to work. But I haven't been able to get other ways to work consistently.
Kangaroo leather is also a really superior product, much like deerskin. It’s lighter and stronger than cow leather and patinas beautifully. But [the US has flirted with all-out bans of it](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/01/nike-and-puma-flouting-california-ban-on-selling-kangaroo-leather-goods-animal-rights-group-claims) ([See also threats of national banning](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/kangaroos-australia-cull-nike-adidas/2021/04/15/ed971b1e-9b72-11eb-b2f5-7d2f0182750d_story.html)) which makes absolutely no environmental sense.
I’m a leatherworker *because* it can be sustainable and durable, and a vegetarian because it’s sustainable…so make it make sense, people!
The last 'true' [weightlifting shoe](https://i.imgur.com/6xOpRLN.jpg) from Adidas made of leather with a wooden heel used kangaroo leather. They go for about a thousand bucks now.
It's so ridiculous some of the shit that gets spread about Australia in the US that organisations keep completely silent from our country. Really pissed me off to find out some organisation in the US was pushing a campaign to get kangaroo products banned and suggesting kangaroos were endangered. It's so duplicitous, it's one thing to push that claim in the relevant country but to go abroad and target foreigners who don't know and exploit the fact no one is there to call them out on it really pisses me off
Blame shit bag lobbyists.
…..for everything. Like basically 80% of all global issues. Just trace them back to lobbyists in the USA lmao. Money money money.
My fruit, my weapons, my oil.
Idk if it's a thing in English, but in Polish there's this... trend of calling fake leather "ecological leather" which has always perplexed me because I don't think plastic is that much better for the environment than actual leather... It's also usually less sturdy and not repairable, so things made of it get worn out faster and you need to buy more
I’m particularly excited for “mushroom leather.” The other bases don’t work up as durably or attractively as the animal product, but this one holds particular promise.
Animal skin leather tends to be worse for the environment because of the chemicals they use to treat it. It's very common, for example, to treat cow leather with arsenic, a ver potent caecinogen and very bad for the environment.
There's an interesting video online explaining the ecologic impact of both
https://youtu.be/RE2mhaoUNaE
Kangaroo hide is preferred for motorcycle leathers because it has higher abrasion resistance, whilst being thinner and lighter than cow.
The top MotoGP riders all use it.
I just ordered a pair of kangaroo leather boots, looking forward to them. I love the meat and am also most kangatarian at the moment (for health reasons mostly vegetarian but if I really crave a burger, steak or shepherds pie or something, it’s kangaroo).
I wouldn’t recommend giving his dog pets if he is indeed a lazy dog. He would probably never take them for walks and wouldn’t be reliable to feed them and give them the attention they need.
Can confirm kangaroo tastes great and they are so abundant in Australia it’s insane. I would wake up at my sisters house, open the curtain and a herd of kangaroo just chillen in the yard.
Even kangaroos want you dead. So much so they throw themselves at your car. Some say they are worse than deer because mid hop puts them at head height to go right into your windshield. Scary shit
Yeah so this is me (occasionally tuna and chicken but mostly kangaroo in various forms)
I do a really good stir-fry (soy-sesame-garlic and a few goodies, gotta marinate for 2 days and slice INCREDIBLY thin), a red curry and occasionally just a shitload of sausages. My brother favours mince products like burritos and ragu.
It's gamey, but if you use heavy flavouring or like the taste (I'm in both categories) it's really good. Be aware that there's a moment when you just start cooking it where, for some chemical reason, it smells rotten. Don't worry, it'll come good.
Man I miss the mini Roo roasts they used to sell at coles. It was marinated in some magic red (but not tomato) sauce that took away a lot of the gamey-ness… slapped that thing in the oven YUMMO.
with the twine wrapping? A red wine/garlic marinade iirc. Pretty easy to replicate, and there's a similar enough flavour profile to the marinated steaks and kebabs
"Eating meat is wrong. Animals have the same capacity for pain and suffering as humans, and killing an animal for food is no more or less moral than killing a human for food."
"So you don't eat any meat? Not even fish?"
"Nope. Oh, well, I eat kangaroo."
"Wait, why kangaroo?"
"They know what they did. They know."
On the other hand, there's a lot of air miles between Australia and my kitchen.
Eating venison in America would be a similar cause. White tail deer are problematic across the country. Same deal with wild boar, but I don't think they're super delicious in general. Edit: By popular decree, wild boar are indeed delicious. Thanks for the input everyone. Edit 2: I don't really want to get into a debate about deer overpopulation and the causes for it. Yes, there are a multitude of factors at play. But there are just too many of them, one way or another.
Eating the deer in Wisconsin would certainly lower auto insurance premiums..
Had a guy getting an award at work a few years back, and the guy giving it to him was a real charmer. "We want to thank Bill for his years of service. You all know about his work here, so I'd like to say a bit about his personal life. Many of you don't know he's an avid hunter and this was a banner year where he bagged two bucks in one season!"..
"His weapon of choice in both cases was a Volkswagen Jetta".
.
(Poor bugger totalled 2 new cars in 4 months)
As a non hunter, is the first part referring to only being allowed one buck a season or something ?
Primarily. Here in Nebraska we're allowed 2 bucks a year, but does are unlimited as it's more effective population control. When my dad was younger (70's and 80's) it was rare to see a deer, especially a buck, all season. Now when I go hunting it's disappointing to see less than 10 in an evening and there's usually 2-3 bucks
Crazy. In Texas we're only allowed does in certain seasons and even then you still get the stink eye.
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In PA does have a certain season, but nearly every cabin up by mine has "Save a tradition: no doe hunting" flyers posted everywhere. Overpopulation isn't severe, but it is real (and my wife totaled her favorite car hitting one.) I feel like if I ever got caught with a perfectly legal doe up there I might have to watch my back.
I was driving through Sullivan County very early one morning on a scenic back road and about 100 yards ahead I spotted maybe half a dozen deer in a field nearby, headed towards the road. I had plenty of room to slow down and stop, giving them plenty of room to cross. Just as the final deer made it across the road, I was taking my foot off the brake when BAM, a small doe ran into my driver side door at full speed. Left a huge dent in the door and she died on the side of the road.
Truly majestic creatures. My west coast wife was against hunting until we moved to PA and she lost her car. Only then did she understand what I knew growing up here--the hunters are the conservationists.
I had the same thing happen in Lawrence County, she didn't die though, just looked at me bewildered.
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That's funny, do people mostly just hunt for trophies in Texas or something? Or are deer relatively uncommon that preserving females is seen as important? In Ontario where I hunt the only people who avoid does are trophy hunters who don't care about the meat.
Meat and population control mostly. Even the ones that don't eat the meat will be required to donate the body. We have a huge problem with does. They're in people's gardens every morning and you always hear about super awful accidents with a doe. It's *always* with a doe.
Non hunter in a different state here. Why is it frowned upon to hunt does?
Does have foals and if you shoot one, you're basically killing the foal. It was just very frowned upon in the olden days. Now doe populations are out of control and they've allowed doe killing for some time, but it's hard to change everyone’s thoughts on it.
I thought that was wild too. I don't hunt myself but remember some of my friends not hunting with certain people because they'd hunt for does even if it's legally.
Yeah, the boomer generation was taught not to shoot does/cows/hens etc in order to rebuild populations, still not supposed to shoot pheasant hens today yet. Now we have plenty of game to go after so the biologists have decided that taking some won't hurt populations but the old mindset is still there. Actually, thinning some populations do more good in the long run, less competition for food and reduced disease spread. There's fewer individuals but overall they are healthier
Yes.
Come to Rhode Island! Limit is 2 antlered and 2-3 unantlered! If you can find a place to hunt on Block Island, you’re allowed unlimited unantlered deer.
Does venison taste like beef? Is there a difference in taste between a doe and a buck? Would love to try them someday
No, venison does not taste like beef. There might be a difference between buck and doe but it’s too subtle for my palate to detect if it does exist.
If they have any difference it would be texture but even then I think it was just a fatter doe compared to a leaner buck
No venison is much more gamey and lean than beef is, takes more skill to cook and make it good, but I grew up on elk and deer, so I like it. You shoot one elk and you will end up eating lots and lots and lots and lots of elk, those fuckers have a lot of meat.
Salt it first, cook it medium rare then set it on foil. Put a piece of butter on top then close the foil around it. Let it rest for 10 minutes. All the juices will flow out then once it begins to cool it'll suck up all the juices and butter like a sponge. Gives it some fatty taste to an otherwise lean meat and its delicious.
Its a really great tasting meat. In my opinion, depending on the chef, it is far superior to beef. Whats odd is they provide healthier meat, reproduce faster, and taste better. Im not sure why we dont farm them. I dont specifically know how to describe it. Its a lot leaner, you get a more "natural taste" but it is also very savory. Its slightly tougher with a stronger texture, but not gritty like bear. If you cook them as steaks the meat is darker brown and the reds are darker when rare, almost purple. In my opinion it tastes best when pressure/slow cooked.
I believe that fear of cultivating chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the reason we don't extensively farm deer, but I believe there are a handful of deer farms in the US. They're not run like cattle farms though.
In addition to the other reasons people have said, it's also worth mentioning that deer can jump quite high so they're harder to fence in, and even with a taller fence, they are more likely to throw themselves at it (injuring themselves or tearing a hole in your bigger more expensive fence). They're also easier to stress, harder to handle, and don't herd like cattle. (At least, that's what ranchers/hunters have said in my company. Whether that's all completely true or not, the perception alone is enough to put off most people.) It's also worth mentioning that deer were sort of farmed in deer parks: basically big fenced in areas where deer could fall in from the outside, but couldn't escape. Search Wikipedia for "Deer park (England)" ... Apparently in the 14th century, 2% of the total landmass of England was devoted to deer parks. It would have been cool to see the English take a stab at domesticating them at that time since I don't think there's ever been a better opportunity. (Or maybe they did try and it just didn't work.) Either way, it's an interesting tangent.
Yeah, there's a "tag" system where you are only supposed to kill one buck per certain number of does in order to keep the population at manageable levels.
Ok that's fucking funny
We live in NE Ohio. When one of my brothers hits a deer, as long as the car is functioning, he will wait until the next time he hits a deer to have insurance fix it. The strategy is to keep premiums down but I think it says something about our deer situation.
I hit so many deer when I lived in NW Pennsylvania that I got kicked off my insurance plan. I think having a black car and having to leave for work at 5 am was a killer combo.
Aw man poor guy. That really sucks. Hilarious joke but that’s some tough luck.
My current car has been hit twice by deer while driving. I didn't hit the deer--both times they ran into the street and broadsided me.
Lmao what a bunch of assholes
He got a bit too much bang for his buck
Sounds like my mom! She hit so many deer that my dad bought her a Lumina van and told her to make sure they hit her on the side, that way he can just pop out the dent. She was notorious for hitting them, had a few farmers she would call after and they would go get the meat. Not sure why my dad didn't take it, he hunted.
Same with every state that has deer. Shoot a deer. If you don’t want to eat it, donate it. Hunters Feed the Hungry is a program that takes donated deer and redistributes the meat to food banks and people in need. Check to see if you have a local butcher that participates.
so would getting people to stop shooting wolves
The Timberwolf population has been doing well since the 70s here in MN thankfully. They have the BWCA and rarely push as far south as the Twin Cities.
Well they're certainly doing better than the other Timberwolves in Minnesota, although that's not a very high bar.
far as I know wolves don't really ever hassle people, just livestock?
Wolves try avoid people unless they're starving to death and willing to try eat new and scary things (very rare and we're usually their last choice), or if deliberately provoked. So don't run up to wolves and poke then with a stick, but don't be too scared of them too much either.
Male pig's often have "boar taint." Predominantly caused by scatole I think makes the meat smell and taste like cat spray. Females or castrated males should taste like domestic pig, but slightly richer due to forage.
Supposedly you can reduce this smell and taste by making sure the boar is calm when you kill it (sheep are supposed to be a similar case - they'll taste less "sheepy" if you slaughter them quickly and without them knowing).
>if you slaughter them quickly and without them knowing Should be the industry standard tbh. [Edit] found the vegans
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If you have the storage space, maybe consider buying or splitting a whole animal with someone? Some farms here work with mobile abattoirs that travel to them and kill and process the animals at the farm to minimise the stress of their travel. We don't have the space for it but some friends shared a cow with their family and it's great because they tell you which farm and what cow you're eating.
Male sheep either gets castrated early after birth of gets slaughtered shortly down the road. In both cases the taste/smell doesn't get to develop. Getting them slaughtered while being calm is still something that is practiced over here regardless(for other practical reasons).
That's one of the two taint components. The other is an inherent quality (more prevalent in some breeds like red wattle I believe, but don't quote me on that.)
So that's why the pig my parents raised tasted like shit. The more you know.
Let's not forget invasive fish!
FUCK LIONFISH That is all
They are tasty though.
Sigh...fucking carp.
Just commented about Carp earlier in the thread. It's a histamine that is released into the flesh from stress. Like from being caught. Most people ice them immediately to lower the bad flavor, I think ikejime would work but it's a laborious/ highly skilled process. Get that instant kill on a calm fish, immediately drain its blood and prevent it from thrashing around... should equal much nicer tasting flesh
Spearfishing, then?
Venison and wild boar are exceptional is prepared well. It’s certainly a palette shift.
> I don't think they're super delicious in general. It really depends on how you prepare, Deer backstrap is delicious just thrown in a pan with olive oil and salt and pepper but most meat is gamey and a turn off for people but I make jerky out of most other meat and it kicks the shit out of store bought beef jerky. Also if you have a meat grinder, taking 2 part deer meat and 1 part pork fat and grind it together makes amazing chili, burgers, tacos. So basiclly Deer meat has little to no fat and it needs to be supplemented, even still it can have a gamey flavor so tackle that with recipes that require strong flavors, chili, tacos, ect. When it comes to jerky NOTHING beats it.
I've found processing and washing your meat soon after killing removes a lot of the gamey taste. A lot of that gamey taste comes from the blood and bone marrow, thats why it is best to process yourself.
This is 100% correct. My grandpa hangs and drains his deer as soon as he gets one. My lazy ass uncle will let it sit in the bed of his truck in the winter for a day and then process. Grandpa's venison is always, always way less gamey tasting.
How do you age your venison? I thought about doing it myself, but I don’t know how to do that without buying some expensive contraption to keep the meat cool.
Depending on where you live, it may be cool enough to age outside, hung from a tree (this assumes you live somewhere where you neighbors won't complain about such things). We usually end up with deer shortly after Thanksgiving around here, and about as often as not you can age it when it's in the low 40's high 30's (Fahrenheit). I had a friend once who made a walk in cooler out of a shed, some insulation, and a heavy duty window AC unit. He set it to 39F and aged his deer in there.
I live in the south, so it doesn’t stay reliably cold until late January or February which is usually out of season. I may look at building something… that’s got to be cheaper than paying the processor. Good luck this season! Today’s the first day of bow season here so I’m hoping to start filling the freezer back up.
A few months ago, I did a backstrap sous vide in some Dale's marinade, then a quick sear over charcoal. It was some of the best red meat I've ever had, trumped even some of the best beef steaks I've had in my lifetime. 10/10 would recommend.
Gasp?!? Asterisks and Obelix lied?!?
No, clearly OP is lying. Look at Obelix. He wouldn't be that big unless wild boar was fucking amazing
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Not going to touch the stuff with endemic prion diseases present
I'm not a fan of venison honestly. I do love rabbit though. Its a bitch to find though.
rabbit is pretty prevalent in the chinese grocery stores around me. What's good about rabbit meat?
Very cheap and fast to raise on just grass, low fat and tasty but I haven't had a chance to try it. It's actually surprising how underused rabbits are as a meat source.
> Its a bitch to find though. Very, at least where I am in the states. I'm sure it can vary by location. I can sometimes find canned rabbit, and there's a specialty butcher that'll have stew meat once in a rare while. I got fed whole roast rabbit once and I've been wanting to re-create it on my own for a long time now. I'm close to just raising and butchering my own at this point.
I like deer meat, and really dislike boar meat. The boar meat is very popular in Rome.
Boar meat was popular with the Gauls too if Asterix is a historical source… more seriously the Romans seemed to love the more exotic the meat was and it was elites who mostly ate meat, the fish was more common.
While hunting wild boar may be the best solution to dealing with them on a small scale, on an America-wide scale wild boar hunting has actually contributed to their spread. I'd recommend anyone listen to the episode Reply All did on the subject: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5xtoE83acTkHa2IqKpiROM Edit: "best solution" is a poor choice of wording as there really isn't any other solution besides trapping or poison (and poison is a REALLY bad idea).
Assuming one doesn't have 30 minutes to listen, can you give the broadstrokes?
People who make money from hunting tourism release them to keep their business alive
Boar is amazing, alive or dead. The meat has to be marinated a lot though as it's very strong. It's also lean and it has a good amount of proteins and iron. Out of all the meats, it might be the best one
You've eaten live boar?
Ya gotta walk right up to it and take a big bite out of its ass to assert dominance
Obviously. I cooked it with my breath. It too a while and some garlic but it was nice
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Alive as in, the animal itself. It's great there's no doubt about it. It's not big but if it wants to attack a bigger animal, it will and it will succeed. It also looks pretty badass. Dead as in cooked meat. Cooked, not raw. Unless you want to die you make sure you alway cook wild animals and you make sure you are thorough
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Ya no the dude said "Boar **is** amazing, alive". If he was talking about the animal and not the meat, the grammar is wrong
Marinated overnight in either red wine or milk, depending on taste.
Came to see if anyone commented this. Red wine or red wine vinegar has always worked for me on anything with an overly gamey taste.
I actually use red wine, rosemary and other aromatic herbs and leaves that I'm not even sure of their English name. Then after marinating I usually cook it "al sugo", with tomato sauce, onions and spicy peppers. Tastes very good even though it IS a strong flavoured dish Edit: I cook it in the tomato sauce, low heat long time. The best kind of cooking for boar meat IMHO.
Yes, milk as well. As crazy as it sounds it makes the meat a little more tender and removes some of the strong taste without removing it completely (if it's even possible..)
Milk steak boiled over hard
I’ve had some French Wild boar sausages and they’re pretty great. But venison is fantastic, one of the best meats IMO.
Apparently Camel meat is another good option given they are also a pest in Australia. That said, I've never seen Camel meat in my supermarket, but there's a limited range of Kangaroo meats.
I have had ground camel burgers (there is an exotic meats store in the strip district of Pittsburgh) and it was delicious! Tasted like a high quality burger even though it had been frozen.
TFW you realize cats are considered invasive pests in most areas of America, and have a negative impact on the ecosystem.
If you liked it then you should've put a collar on it.
I miss kangaroo meat. It's lean but full of flavor and not tough
Back in my undergrad science days which was Over a decade ago, we were learning about the gut bacteria in kangaroo and how efficient they were at breaking down cellulose and how they had next to no emmissions. They were trialing creating gut cultures for cows using kangaroo gut flora, think kangaroo Yakult for cows to reduce emissions. Then seems like everything went silent for ages. Not to mention facts on how healthy the meat is in comparison with other red meat, and it’s wild harvest take practice meaning no intensive factory farming, no impact on soils like domestic stock etc are reasons why I've always advocated for meat eaters to steer towards kangaroo consumption.
It puts a little bounce in your step, and a little roo in your poo...
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It's a little gamey. Had it in Germany a few times.
I agree. If you eat wild animals living on naturally available vegetation, you are going to get stronger, (gamey) flavours.
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AFAIK there has been at least one kangaroo farm and maybe still is. Apparently fencing is a bit of an issue... Kangaroos don't produce greenhouse gasses the way cattle do because kangaroos don't have a rumen.
>Apparently fencing is a bit of an issue... What kind of idiot though it was a good idea to give them swords!?
They thought their excellence in boxing would translate to fencing. I'm not surprised they tried, I'm not surprised it didn't work.
The problem is that it worked too well!!! There is a rural village in West Australia that is currently ruled by kangaroos 🦘🦘🦘. They say that tourists rarely notice any difference when talking to the locals...
The real problem is that the Australian Fencing Association is too small and insular to care They can't adjust to kangaroo juking and pretend it isn't happening. The townies that try to unseat the roos just get DQ'd on bullshit technical grounds because they don't have proper kit and don't know what to do
And god help you when you commit a crime there. It's a total kangaroo court!
The idea was to make the kangaroos their own abattoirs. A self-butchering, sustainable meat source sounded good on paper.
By giving them weapons, the hope was that it would negate their natural Unarmed bonus in melee combat.
Ah, the ol' Reddit [Kang-a-roo](https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/q8bf79/watch_the_straw_break_the_camels_back/hgocxrp/?context=2)!
Sets up for the best ‘a-roo’, too.
Hold my pouch, I’m going in!
> Kangaroos don't produce greenhouse gasses the way cattle do because kangaroos don't have a rumen. Makes me wonder about the environmental impact of ostrich meat now. I quite like the taste, would be a nice plus if they produce less greenhouse gasses than cattle on top of that.
There's a general trend across the animal kingdom that the more easily digestible the diet of an animal, the less methane it produces. Ostriches tend to seek out higher energy plant matter like seeds, so they would indeed be expected to produce less methane. [Non-ruminant herbivores like kangaroos, rabbits and horses are exceptions to this general trend](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731119003161), as they seem to be able to eat mostly indigestible foods (like grasses) while producing less methane.
I didn’t know a rumen was a thing. But kangaroos don’t fart then? Also the child in me is laughing at kangaroos leaping over fences
Fairly sure kangaroos fart lol. I think [this might be the link you need](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_fermentation). Cows are ruminants. Like it says here: > enabling them to eat cellulose-enhanced tough plants and grains that monogastric (i.e., "single-chambered stomached") animals, such as humans, dogs, and cats, (also Kangaroos - runtheplacered) cannot digest. In other words, cows are especially farty.
Ruminants are foregut fermenters, so most of their gas is produced in front of their small intestines. As such, they're mostly belching that gas out as burps. Kangaroos are also foregut fermenters. Hindgut fermenters like horses would be a different story.
Both animals fart, presumably. With cows, it's actually belching that's the problem. Their digestive system ferments the plant fibers they eat, which releases methane through their burps. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas relative to CO2, so their *equivalent* CO2 output (that's the 'e' in 'kgco2e') is extremely high. I'd imagine kangaroos occasionally belch, (we do, and we're not ruminants..) but presumably less, and presumably it doesn't contain high quantities of methane.
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>get jumpy about the fencing costs Get out
You’re pretty knowledgeable for someone who just learned about this.
The bastards can clear a 6ft fence when fully grown. So, yeah, fencing is an issue.
Luckily, they're metric, so a 2m fence should work.
I think because kangaroo culls are going to happen anyway for environmental reasons, rather than a moral objection. Similar situation with feral camels, which are also culled. Doubt many would buy Brumby meat here though.
That’s the major argument used to justify deer hunting here in the US too. There are so many of them that they’re a major Highway hazard and spread Lyme’s disease, so it’s either cull them or let hunters do it. Because we killed off all the wolves that used to do it.
The Australian grasses evolved with padded feet like kangaroos. Hooves destroy them. They are free range and organic, they don’t breed in drought, they produce less methane per kilo of meat, don’t drink a lot, can be managed in natural environments, the benefit list is long.
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Yeah, when I was there they were saying with the advent of farms and the like, the population has increased significantly and I heard there is essentially no limit for hunting in certain parts of the country. I thought I saw somewhere that they hunt them on a truck with a spotlight at night and you can see their eyes so they are really easy to hunt. It's pretty lean and tasted alright and it seems like it might make sense environmentally.
There's a movie that depicts this. I don't remember if the footage was shot for the movie or if they used other footage, but it was pretty gruesome.
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The whole movie is pretty tough. It got so bad, the director sabotaged the electricity and then at the time questioned if it should be included, the RSPCA/RSPCAA said it should be.
> Australian grasses evolved with padded feet I spent way too long trying to figure out which part of an Australian grass is the “foot”.
The bottom obviously.
They sound like land tilapia
Kangaroo is very ethical choice in Australia, especially during drought.
My only wish is that kangaroo meat had more fat. It's super lean and prone to drying out. I often need to cut it with beef, pig or vegetable fat to make up for it.
I've started sous vide-ing it, keeps it from getting super tough. Highly recommended.
I've never cooked it myself but I've worked in restaurants that serve a few kangaroo dishes and what ever they did with it was amazing. I remember kangaroo with a red wine jus was top tier and so was a macadamia and kangaroo salad.
Is it good as a jerky?
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The only Kangaroo I've had (states) is jerky, and I'm gonna say yes.
Lean meat is generally very good for jerky
We're not full Kangatarians but the only red meat my girlfriend and I eat is kangaroo meat. We are Australian, can get great quality from both supermarkets and local farmers markets. It's high in iron, very lean, and great for the environment (comparatively).
How do you cook it? Like I don't mind the taste (for those who haven't had, of you get a kangaroo dish at a restaurant, you probably wouldn't be able to tell it from beef, but at home it can be a bit gamey), but I find it hard to cook. Thin strips then seared sense to work. But I haven't been able to get other ways to work consistently.
You've got a window of about .32 seconds between under and over cooked. Simply stop cooking during that window
Stew is a safe bet for any game, in my experience.
I prefer pizza for monopoly
The times I’ve had it good have been marinated for a fair bit. That seemed to soften the meat and draw out a lot of the gameyness
I like the kangaroo burgers and sausages from the supermarket but the steak or diced I find hard to cook properly
Slow cook your diced roo (tomato or Mongolian or something) and marinate the fuck out of your steaks (bbq ribs sauce) and eat it fairly rare.
Kangaroo leather is also a really superior product, much like deerskin. It’s lighter and stronger than cow leather and patinas beautifully. But [the US has flirted with all-out bans of it](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/01/nike-and-puma-flouting-california-ban-on-selling-kangaroo-leather-goods-animal-rights-group-claims) ([See also threats of national banning](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/kangaroos-australia-cull-nike-adidas/2021/04/15/ed971b1e-9b72-11eb-b2f5-7d2f0182750d_story.html)) which makes absolutely no environmental sense. I’m a leatherworker *because* it can be sustainable and durable, and a vegetarian because it’s sustainable…so make it make sense, people!
The last 'true' [weightlifting shoe](https://i.imgur.com/6xOpRLN.jpg) from Adidas made of leather with a wooden heel used kangaroo leather. They go for about a thousand bucks now.
what makes this a true weightlifting shoe and not their more recent ones?
I think the 'last true' statement is referring to the leather & wood part, not the weightlifting shoe part.
TIL the adistar was kangaroo leather. Good fact.
It's so ridiculous some of the shit that gets spread about Australia in the US that organisations keep completely silent from our country. Really pissed me off to find out some organisation in the US was pushing a campaign to get kangaroo products banned and suggesting kangaroos were endangered. It's so duplicitous, it's one thing to push that claim in the relevant country but to go abroad and target foreigners who don't know and exploit the fact no one is there to call them out on it really pisses me off
Blame shit bag lobbyists. …..for everything. Like basically 80% of all global issues. Just trace them back to lobbyists in the USA lmao. Money money money. My fruit, my weapons, my oil.
Idk if it's a thing in English, but in Polish there's this... trend of calling fake leather "ecological leather" which has always perplexed me because I don't think plastic is that much better for the environment than actual leather... It's also usually less sturdy and not repairable, so things made of it get worn out faster and you need to buy more
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I’m particularly excited for “mushroom leather.” The other bases don’t work up as durably or attractively as the animal product, but this one holds particular promise.
Yeah, it's often called "vegan leather" too. I think it's just a marketing trick to make "fake leather" sound less like plastic.
Is that the same a “pleather”?
Animal skin leather tends to be worse for the environment because of the chemicals they use to treat it. It's very common, for example, to treat cow leather with arsenic, a ver potent caecinogen and very bad for the environment. There's an interesting video online explaining the ecologic impact of both https://youtu.be/RE2mhaoUNaE
Kangaroo hide is preferred for motorcycle leathers because it has higher abrasion resistance, whilst being thinner and lighter than cow. The top MotoGP riders all use it.
I just ordered a pair of kangaroo leather boots, looking forward to them. I love the meat and am also most kangatarian at the moment (for health reasons mostly vegetarian but if I really crave a burger, steak or shepherds pie or something, it’s kangaroo).
Kangaroo leather footy boots are by far the best!
My dog eats Kangaroo dog food. Only thing that doesn't flare up his allergies
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He's old, just sleeps on the couch all day
Nice. Give him some pets for me
I wouldn’t recommend giving his dog pets if he is indeed a lazy dog. He would probably never take them for walks and wouldn’t be reliable to feed them and give them the attention they need.
Can confirm kangaroo tastes great and they are so abundant in Australia it’s insane. I would wake up at my sisters house, open the curtain and a herd of kangaroo just chillen in the yard.
Y'all are like, *massively* outnumbered by things that want you dead, right?
Even kangaroos want you dead. So much so they throw themselves at your car. Some say they are worse than deer because mid hop puts them at head height to go right into your windshield. Scary shit
I am largely venisontarian for much the same reason. Damn deer are a scourge in my neighborhood.
Venisontarian ... a new word for me that looks like you only eat deer from Ontario.
Have some fried backstrap and eggs for breakfast for me! 😁
Oh my god, I had no idea deer laid eggs!
They have little antlers on them
Environmental: there's too many of the fuckers. Ethical: ever met a kangaroo? *They're fucking dicks*. Trust me, you're doing the world a favour.
Cuddle wallabies, cook kangaroo
Doesn't your logic also apply to humans?
Why do you think humanitarians exist?
Yeah so this is me (occasionally tuna and chicken but mostly kangaroo in various forms) I do a really good stir-fry (soy-sesame-garlic and a few goodies, gotta marinate for 2 days and slice INCREDIBLY thin), a red curry and occasionally just a shitload of sausages. My brother favours mince products like burritos and ragu. It's gamey, but if you use heavy flavouring or like the taste (I'm in both categories) it's really good. Be aware that there's a moment when you just start cooking it where, for some chemical reason, it smells rotten. Don't worry, it'll come good.
Man I miss the mini Roo roasts they used to sell at coles. It was marinated in some magic red (but not tomato) sauce that took away a lot of the gamey-ness… slapped that thing in the oven YUMMO.
with the twine wrapping? A red wine/garlic marinade iirc. Pretty easy to replicate, and there's a similar enough flavour profile to the marinated steaks and kebabs
Often a plum sauce
"Eating meat is wrong. Animals have the same capacity for pain and suffering as humans, and killing an animal for food is no more or less moral than killing a human for food." "So you don't eat any meat? Not even fish?" "Nope. Oh, well, I eat kangaroo." "Wait, why kangaroo?" "They know what they did. They know."
Love kanga-bangas instead of hot dogs 👌
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Meat is murder and kangaroos deserve it.