What type of deer do you enjoy eating the most?

[sikadog]

Sika
Then any of the others hung for the correct time then cooked correctly, I can definitely say that I have never eaten a deer that didn't taste wonderfull. I have eaten all of the species at all times of year even rutting stags, they just need a bit more love and care. The best thing to do with a rutting stag is hang it for 14 days in a good chiller then joint a freeze it for 3 to 6 months, it comes out as any good venison should.

 

[Taff]

Dead ones

 

[Mungo]

Top of my list is
1. Sika hind.
2. Fallow doe
3. Muntjac
4. CWD not off marshy boggy ground though. They are a different taste then.
5 Roe
6. Red

Never had CWD and eaten too few muntjac to comment, but that would be my ranking, all else being equal.

 

[sausage man]

Fantastic to hear everyone's thoughts and it seems the same species of venison tastes differently depending on flora and habitat it lives in.
Prime example.
For Salt marsh lamb to carry the status they have to be on the marsh for a minimum of 2 months I believe.
To maximise the extra premium per Kg the farmer deposits his lambs onto the marsh to take on the flavour as they eat different flora. Most of this lamb gets shipped to France as they adore it over there.
There is a subtle difference in taste between the same flock being fed different food, farmlands to being on the marsh.
This therefore must be true too regarding venison.
The comments about CWD is a example of members saying the polar opposite on taste of marshy to an arable environment.
My point is, if any members are lucky enough to have more than one permission of land and they are in a different part of the country, with the same species on it, then its well worth doing a taste tests comparison.
Its critical that you cook both cuts of meat in the same manner or its pointless.
I've been lucky enough to have been a chef in Gleneagles and the Sales manager for the winner of the Welsh and UK's Best butchers shop.
I was privileged enough to even make the British Champion Pork sausage hence Sausage man. I've done a few taste tests in my time in and my biggest tips about cooking any prime cut of meat / venison /game is make sure its a female and don't add salt until the very end of the cooking process.
Salt extracts moisture thus making the meat slightly drier.

Keep the feedback coming please as everybody has different tastes.

 

[big ears]

Fallow. Although never tasted sika.

 

[NP435]

Either of the two specie around here are fine with me. Mule deer after the rut I will pass.

 

[stevestalker]

I personally like CWD the best then Roe then Muntjac then Fallow i only shoot Reds for other peoples tables and i still haven't shot Sika or tasted it.
Steve

 

[RescueMe0007]

I personally like CWD the best then Roe then Muntjac then Fallow i only shoot Reds for other peoples tables and i still haven't shot Sika or tasted it.
Steve

When you do taste Sika in you're in for a treat. Hopefully a young beast, that's not stressed before expiring!

 

[stevestalker]

When you do taste Sika in you're in for a treat. Hopefully a young beast, that's not stressed before expiring!

I had an outing lined up pre covid and now the freind has no longer got the stalking rights on that land.
It's a good job i have lots of muntjac and fallow to fill the freezer.
Steve

 

[Del Boy]

Muntjac in sausages & burgers. Roe steaks. Fallow roast.

 

[Automan]

The inner fillet from any of them

 

[slider]

These ones

 

[David Barker]

Sika
Muntjac
Roe
Fallow
Red
(Never tried CWD)

 

[375win]

Another vote for sika deer. Along with kudu my favorite meat. Muntjac are great to eat and are a lot less work.

 

[Scuffy]

November/December shot yearling Sika hind followed by Fallow doe of same age.

Worst venison ever eaten...... old rutting Sika stag

 

[Bowland blades]

November/December shot yearling Sika hind followed by Fallow doe of same age.

Worst venison ever eaten...... old rutting Sika stag

Yep totally agree, Sika are only great if they aint in or around the rut ( for males ) and are not going back !

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

Roe
Muntjac
Fallow

All hung minimum 21 days

Wouldn’t entertain red,sika cwd for as long as I’ve got a hole in my backside!

They just don’t do it for me unfortunately

 

[gelert]

We eat venison at least twice a week in our house and I really don't remember the last time I bought any beef, my wife is a full on convert.
I find roe has a slightly irony taste, not offensive just a slight undertone male or female so generally I mince or make burgers/sausages.
Incidentally, I use the burgers as a base for spag bol, lasagna, chilli etc which is so much easier pre seasoned with enough fat.
My main stalking is sika, fallow and roe. A Sika hind is delicious and I generally steak the bigger deer species or turn into chops.
I have not eat many muntjac or cwd to draw any conclusion that the meat is inherently better but happy to be converted. I do recall cwd was very similar to lamb.
I recall shooting a fallow calf which was like veal, the meat was incredibly tender and soft.
A bad chef can ruin a god piece of meat ,while a good chef can't do anything with a bad piece of meat.

1,sika hind,
2,fallow hind,
3red hind
4,roe,
5,muntjac,
6,CWD

 

[Bowland blades]

Roe
Muntjac
Fallow

All hung minimum 21 days

Wouldn’t entertain red,sika cwd for as long as I’ve got a hole in my backside!

They just don’t do it for me unfortunately

My wife simply wont eat CWD , I eat them all . Doesnt even like the smell of them cooking

 

[tacklerat]

Where I hunt here in Australia, it's Fallow Deer or nothing, although I believe there could be some Chital showing up nearby. There used to be a closed season on Fallow here but due to the explosion of numbers, that has been dropped, so it's open season all year. You can also shoot them at night. I prefer not to. Just got off the phone from one of the property owners who's land I hunt on and he says the place is crawling with deer. These are not native animals, so the farmers want them shot out although the old fella who owns the block tells me that he hates to see waste of any kind, so only shoot what you want to eat. I don't hunt for antlers, my wife says she doesn't want the house looking like a natural history museum.