What type of deer do you enjoy eating the most?
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Sol
Well-Known Member
I had this chat a while ago I personally do not enjoy my areas roes however I do quite enjoy our red deer.
The roe probably face similar issues to CWD where they develop a marshy type taste to there meat while the red deer do inhabit the same areas at night It seems like most of there diet is coming from browsing, where the roes directly eat the marshy grasses.
All our trees are quite mature what makes sense, the roe cant access them to browse as easy as the reds. I've never had anything else but my friend says fallow is his favourite.
I would assume roe would be great for BBQ though
The roe probably face similar issues to CWD where they develop a marshy type taste to there meat while the red deer do inhabit the same areas at night It seems like most of there diet is coming from browsing, where the roes directly eat the marshy grasses.
All our trees are quite mature what makes sense, the roe cant access them to browse as easy as the reds. I've never had anything else but my friend says fallow is his favourite.
I would assume roe would be great for BBQ though
Of the deer I shoot enough of to comment on (roe, sika and fallow), I’d say that habitat/food, time of year, age and sex have a much greater effect on taste than species.
I have even started to think that many things we believe important have little to no effect at all.
One of the most revealing meals I’ve had: visiting a friend in Devon in mid summer. Hot and muggy (18-22 degrees at dusk, no wind). Humane despatch call - red stag seen alive but immobile in a roadside ditch, with what turned out to be a smashed pelvis. Unclear how long it’s been there. We went out, and arrived about an hour after the call (so it had to have been there at least an hour and a half). Shot in the head with a shotgun, gralloched and dragged to the car.
Hung up in the garden over night, and carcass stripped the next morning (inside of haunches very obviously still warm). Meat stored wherever it could go. I think most ended up in a freezer, but some went into a fridge, and some may have sat out.
The evening of the day after (as in around 46 hours after a long and traumatic death) we had the fillets (back straps) for dinner.
They were absolutely delicious. Not just edible but so delicious as to cause everyone to fight over who got seconds and thirds. Three families and a semi vegetarian visitor, all with extensive experience eating game, all agreed it was some of the best steak, from any creature, they’d had.
So: (1) a species often regarded as the least tasty; (2) of the less tasty sex; (3) given a hideously protracted and stressful death; (4) butchered in every violation of best practice in the middle of a hot summer; (5) with meat that was not hung or marinated or tenderised or had anything at all done to it other than have heat and salt applied. Despite ALL this still tasted absolutely marvellous.
Meanwhile I have have had sika and fallow that were head shot in winter, gralloched, bled and lardered within a few hours, then hung for a week, and found them challenging enough that the less game-committed gave up, even after the liberal application of bbq sauce.
I have even started to think that many things we believe important have little to no effect at all.
One of the most revealing meals I’ve had: visiting a friend in Devon in mid summer. Hot and muggy (18-22 degrees at dusk, no wind). Humane despatch call - red stag seen alive but immobile in a roadside ditch, with what turned out to be a smashed pelvis. Unclear how long it’s been there. We went out, and arrived about an hour after the call (so it had to have been there at least an hour and a half). Shot in the head with a shotgun, gralloched and dragged to the car.
Hung up in the garden over night, and carcass stripped the next morning (inside of haunches very obviously still warm). Meat stored wherever it could go. I think most ended up in a freezer, but some went into a fridge, and some may have sat out.
The evening of the day after (as in around 46 hours after a long and traumatic death) we had the fillets (back straps) for dinner.
They were absolutely delicious. Not just edible but so delicious as to cause everyone to fight over who got seconds and thirds. Three families and a semi vegetarian visitor, all with extensive experience eating game, all agreed it was some of the best steak, from any creature, they’d had.
So: (1) a species often regarded as the least tasty; (2) of the less tasty sex; (3) given a hideously protracted and stressful death; (4) butchered in every violation of best practice in the middle of a hot summer; (5) with meat that was not hung or marinated or tenderised or had anything at all done to it other than have heat and salt applied. Despite ALL this still tasted absolutely marvellous.
Meanwhile I have have had sika and fallow that were head shot in winter, gralloched, bled and lardered within a few hours, then hung for a week, and found them challenging enough that the less game-committed gave up, even after the liberal application of bbq sauce.
All equally good for me - maybe I'm just not fussy. I haven't tried UK fallow or CWD.
I'm quite partial to fatty crispy sika ribs or spicy butterflied sika haunch roast with a good layer of fat on it. The more fat the better.
I'm quite partial to fatty crispy sika ribs or spicy butterflied sika haunch roast with a good layer of fat on it. The more fat the better.
Overthehill
Well-Known Member
Sika doe maybe pricket top notch....
As others I haven't tried CWD or Muntjac but plenty Red, Roe and Sika.
Apart from rutting stags, as long as it is shot, bled/gralloched and hung for a decent time, they are all pretty good.
Cheers
Apart from rutting stags, as long as it is shot, bled/gralloched and hung for a decent time, they are all pretty good.
Cheers
Essexsussex
Well-Known Member
Young fallow haunch, barded with lard and studded with rosemary and garlic,’roasted as for pink lamb leg
My favourite family meal
My favourite family meal
Sika . I would say it is the most versatile of all the meats
Maybe I'm just not sophisticated, but provided they are not rutting, I cant taste the difference between any of the species/sexes. They all taste great!
I found my last sika far too fatty. The mince was really gelatinous and roasts had fat pouring off, anyone who knows sika knows the fat is like the deer itself, stubborn and tough, when it sets it’s absolutely hellish stuff to get off plates, knifes etc 
. It was an early season hind so heavy with fat. I would usually say sika is the finest eating though.
Reds go to the dealer so never eat them, so it’s mainly roe for me and it’s delicious. I get the odd munty and I must say it is truly excellent, I think up there with the best. I have tried them all bar fallow but I’d be intrigued.
. It was an early season hind so heavy with fat. I would usually say sika is the finest eating though.Reds go to the dealer so never eat them, so it’s mainly roe for me and it’s delicious. I get the odd munty and I must say it is truly excellent, I think up there with the best. I have tried them all bar fallow but I’d be intrigued.
I generally find the females taste better than the males, and males during the rut will generally be gamier and less tender as well.
Couple to that the age of the animal - younger generally being more tender and flavourful.
What that generally means is the big old rutting stag or buck you shoot will generally make less enjoyable dinners, whereas the nice young doe shot early in the season when she’s still fat as butter will make a great dinner but you wouldn’t want to put her on the wall necessarily!
That said I’d probably rank as follows (and I’ve not eaten sika).
- Muntjac and CWD
- Roe
- Fallow
- Red
The above could all shift based on the conditions I mentioned though - I would take a nice young hind over a rutting fallow buck (which can be pretty gamey) for example.
Couple to that the age of the animal - younger generally being more tender and flavourful.
What that generally means is the big old rutting stag or buck you shoot will generally make less enjoyable dinners, whereas the nice young doe shot early in the season when she’s still fat as butter will make a great dinner but you wouldn’t want to put her on the wall necessarily!
That said I’d probably rank as follows (and I’ve not eaten sika).
- Muntjac and CWD
- Roe
- Fallow
- Red
The above could all shift based on the conditions I mentioned though - I would take a nice young hind over a rutting fallow buck (which can be pretty gamey) for example.
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