vincent on 7 May 2003  •  Link

"Sorel deare" "No not sorry dear"" I went to Hunting of a sorel deare, & had excellent chase for 4 or 5 houres: The venison little worth, we expecting it should have ben a male: 27 july 1654 J Evelyn:"

vincent on 19 Jul 2003  •  Link

Some ideas on venison from Scotland.
http://www.scotlandonline.com/her…

and venison served here along with pigeon in Irelands oldest Pub 1611.
Stephen Jeffer's Game Recipe

http://www.countrysportsandcountr…

Laura Brown on 20 Jul 2003  •  Link

Venison seems to have been considered a delicacy -- possibly because one would have to be a landowner in order to hunt deer in the first place. There are some old British recipes for 'mock venison' made with mutton.

Venison is still a popular meat in many rural areas of the United States, where people go deer hunting (ironically, it's sometimes considered to be poor people's food). It can be butchered in much the same way as beef (steaks, mince, etc.) It's very lean and has a strong flavour. If it hasn't been butchered properly it can taste quite 'gamey.' This was apparently the problem with the meat that Pepys was given on 18 July.

Glyn on 6 Aug 2003  •  Link

STEWED VENISON

To stew venison in claret: “Cut your Venison into Slices, put it into a Stew-pan, with a little Claret, a sprig or two of Rosemary, half a dozen cloves, a little Vinegar, Sugar and grated Bread; when these have stewed some time, grate in some Nutmeg and serv it it up”.

John Nott, the author, would have cooked his stew in a stew-pan or casserole dish, on a brick-built stewing stove. Those without stoves would use a chafing-dish of charcoal on the hearth, or would cook their stew in a covered jar inside a cauldron of boiling water.

Ingredients:
2 pounds (900g) stewing venison or beef,
6 whole cloves,
1 teaspoon (5ml) rosemary,
1 teaspoon (5ml) salt,
1 teaspoon (5ml) black pepper,
4 teaspoons (20ml) wine vinegar,
16 fl oz (450ml) red wine,
2 teaspoons (10ml) sugar,

Glyn on 6 Aug 2003  •  Link

POTTED VENISON

Potted meats and fish were popular during the 17th and 18th centuries as side dishes for a second course. Potting is a good way to preserve these foods for several weeks. Game and particularly venison was highly prized because, through enclosures and harsh game laws, it had become scarce. Game could be bought in London markets such as SMITHFIELD, but much of it was probably poached. The venison in shops today has not usually been hung until “gamey”. Many large houses such as Lord Montagu’s had outdoor game larders where game could be hung for as long as several weeks before being eaten.

INGREDIENTS:
1

Grahamt on 7 Aug 2003  •  Link

Potted meat:
... was still popular into the (19) sixties in the North of England. It's just Pat

Pedro on 20 Jan 2006  •  Link

Venison.
Anything taken in hunting or by the chase.
Hence Jacob bids Esau to go and get venison such as he loved (Gen. xxvii. 3), meaning the wild kid.

The word is simply the Latin venatio (hunting), but is now restricted to the flesh of deer.

(Brewers Phrase and Fable)